Sandman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s adaptation of the acclaimed 1990s Neil Gaiman comic book series, is leaving Warner Bros.
It’s not traveling far, however, only being segued off to Warners’ sister arm New Line.
The move is part of a larger reshuffling of the deck between DC Comics and its edgy imprint Vertigo. DC projects, those involving the four-color heroes such as Batman and Wonder Woman and Flash, and are — or could be — part of an interconnected cinematic release, will remain in the Warner fold.
Vertigo titles, which are more creator driven and tend to push the envelope in terms of boundaries and content, will now look to be adapted by New Line.
There are some exceptions. Shazam, which has been in development at New Line with Dwayne Johnson attached to star, remains at New Line.
Justice League Dark, which is also known as Dark Universe, will remain under the Warners banner. Dark consists of DC’s supernatural heroes such as Constantine, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, and Deadman among others. In the past, Constantine and Swamp Thing and some of those ilk had their own titles published under the Vertigo imprint but have since been integrated into the DC Universe. The movie version will attempt the same.
Dark, the adaptation, was to have been directed by Guillermo del Toro, but insiders say the filmmaker, who is working on a sequel to Pacific Rim even as he preps his gothic horror movie Crimson Peak, is no longer attached to the project.
