More than a decade before Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman arrived on the scene, Warner Bros. TV hired The Boys‘ Eric Kripke to turn Neil Gaiman’s popular comic books into a TV series. The project was ultimately shelved and now, for the first time, Kripke is explaining why.
“WB gave me a crack at The Sandman but said it had to be network,” Kripke explained on Twitter Saturday. “It was my favorite comic, inspired much of [Supernatural], so I tried. Neil was kind and patient but, ultimately, it would’ve been a bad show.”
Kripke went on to gush about Netflix’s version, calling the 10-episode first season (which dropped August 5) “lush” and stunning.”
Gaiman himself addressed the ill-fated Kripke-penned iteration in a Friday tweet, calling it a “terrific network TV version of Sandman,” before adding, “But when you make a network TV version of Sandman you lose an awful lot of what makes it Sandman. [Kripke] did a great job considering the limitations.”
Gaiman raised eyebrows last week when he warned fans that despite positive reviews and high viewership, The Sandman was not a slam-dunk for renewal because it “is a really expensive show. And for Netflix to release the money to let us make [a second season] we have to perform incredibly well. So yes, we’ve been the top show in the world for the last two weeks. That still may not be enough.”