“Sandman” is joining “Martian Manhunter” and “The Greysons” as the latest proposed comic-book series that won’t be filling the DC superhero vacuum “Smallville” will leave when it flies away for good in about two months.
“Unfortunately, for a lot of varying reasons, Sandman is not in the works, at least for this season," “Supernatural” creator Eric Kripke told The Hollywood Reporter just prior to a Paley Fest event honoring the CW’s long-running drama.
Instead, NBC greenlit to pilot another Warner Bros./DC project, David E. Kelley’s “Wonder Woman.”
It’s proven tougher than expected for Warner Bros. TV to exploit any of the many superheroes owned by Time Warner. “Birds of Prey,” which teamed the Joker-crippled daughter of Commissioner James Gordon with the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, was cancelled in 2003, after 13 episodes were produced for The WB. A WB Aquaman series rumored to be titled “Tempest Keys” or “Mercy Reef” was developed in 2006 but never got beyond the pilot stage. (Interestingly, the Aquaman pilot co-starred Adrianne Palicki, TV’s new Wonder Woman.)
When news of the “Sandman” project emerged last September, Kripke was only mentioned as leading a list of writer-producers who might bring the King of Dreams to the small screen.
I was hoping for a faithful TV-MA adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels on (Time Warner-owned) HBO, but Kripke’s involvement suggests a PG-rated CW version may have been more Warner’s aim.
What I wrote back in September:
If it ends up on The CW (which is half-owned by Time Warner), they’ll probably make Dream a goth bartender named Drew "Sandy" Endles, working for his good-looking but blind big brother Desmond (nicknamed "D.E."!) alongside their other siblings: hottie waitress Dee, fat cashier Deb and androgynous maitre d’ Desi. Dolores is their snotty kid sister with the concerning interest in substance abuse. And the big bad will be their long-lost black-sheep brother, Declan "Destruction" Endles, who was last seen getting a dishonorable discharge in Iraq! I could see it ending up a lot like The CW’s horrible 2008 Greek-god dramedy “Valentine.”
Find all of the Reporter’s story on the matter here.
