For all those who've been dreaming about Joseph Gordon-Levitt's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's beloved comic book series The Sandman, it's time to wake up because the actor has officially exited the project.
In a lengthy Facebook post penned Saturday, Gordon-Levitt explained his decision to bow out of the film, citing a change in ownership of the series and creative differences with production company New Line Cinema as the main reasons for his departure.
"I came to realize that the folks at New Line and I just don't see eye to eye on what makes Sandman special, and what a film adaptation could/should be," he wrote. "So unfortunately, I decided to remove myself from the project. I wish nothing but the best for the team moving forward."
Read the full post below.
The "500 Days of Summer" actor joined the project in 2013, after it had been sentenced to development hell following years of false starts and unsatisfactory scripts. However, Gaiman felt confident with Gordon-Levitt at the wheel, and praised his "good instincts" and desire "to be true to the material."
After Gordon-Levitt released his statement, Gaiman took to Twitter to clarify that there's no bad blood between them, writing that his "respect for [Gordon-Levitt] is undiminished. Getting to know him was the best bit of the last round."
The actor responded soon after, giving fans hope that we might see a collaboration between Gaiman and Gordon-Levitt in the future.
Gaiman reminded fans that he can't control the books' film adaptation, as he doesn't own the rights to Sandman. Gaiman explained that he sold the rights to DC Comics (now a subsidiary of Warner Bros.) when he was 26 and "figured it was worth it."
Despite this setback, "Sandman" is still in development at New Line with "Nightmare on Elm Street" writer Eric Heisserer at the helm. While diehard fans would likely watch any screen adaptation of the source material, we can't imagine many are thrilled to see Gordon-Levitt and Gaiman distancing themselves from the project.
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