Author Neil Gaiman opens up about why John Constantine will not be appearing in Netflix’s TV adaptation of his graphic novel The Sandman. Development on an adaptation of the formerly Vertigo comic has been been in the works for 30 years, first beginning as a film with various writers and directors attached including David S. Goyer and Jack Thorne with Joseph Gordon-Levitt set to produce, star and potentially direct, only for it to fall apart after his departure over creative differences with Warner Bros. The studio would ultimately shift their focus to television with James Mangold and Eric Kripke turning in rejected pitches before a deal was struck with Netflix to produce the series with Wonder Woman co-writer Allan Heinberg serving as developer, showrunner and executive producer with Goyer and Gaiman.

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The Sandman centers on Dream, one of the seven immortal beings known as the Endless and the king of stories, as he is captured in an occult ritual in the early 1900s. Finally escaping after over a century of captivity, Dream must adjust to the world of 2021 and seek those responsible for his capture while restoring order to his kingdom of the Dreaming. Tom Sturridge leads the cast as Morpheus/Dream alongside Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Patton Oswalt as Matthew the Raven and Jenna Coleman as Johanna and Joanna Constantine.

In response to a fan’s question regarding the fan-favorite character on Twitter, Gaiman has offered an explanation for why John Constantine isn’t appearing in The Sandman. The author has confirmed it primarily stems from a rights issue regarding the warlock, however also opens up about how the creative direction taken to get around this worked better for the series. See what Gaiman said below:

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The character of Constantine is certainly not the first from the source material fans became flummoxed over regarding their appearance in The Sandman. The DC Comics version of Lucifer is a key supporting player in the Sandman comics created by Gaiman before spinning off into his solo series, both of which would serve as a loose inspiration for the Fox and Netflix series of the same name with Tom Ellis portraying the ruler of Hell. Despite his appearance in the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was confirmed early in The Sandman‘s development that Ellis’ incarnation would ultimately not return for the series in favor of a more comics-accurate portrayal with Gwendoline Christie starring.

While fans of the comics may be disappointed that Constantine will not be appearing in The Sandman, the future isn’t entirely bleak for the occult detective. A new solo series for Constantine is in the works at HBO Max with J.J. Abrams producing via his Bad Robot Productions banner that will be connected to the Justice League Dark shared universe of films and shows in development for the streaming platform. Though that may be a ways down the road, audiences can look forward to The Sandman‘s arrival on Netflix sometime next year.

Source: Neil Gaiman/Twitter

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Grant Hermanns
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Grant Hermanns is a News Writer, Interviewer and Hiring Manager for Screen Rant, having joined the team in early 2021. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. From there he joined the staff at ComingSoon.net and was its Associate Editor prior to coming over to Screen Rant.

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To say he’s a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he’s not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog.

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