Before word of a planned Preacher series on AMC can even be made official, another rumor about another comic-book adaptation has emerged: Bad Ass Digest contends, with some equivocation, that Man of Steel screenwriter David S. Goyer has pitched Warner Bros. on a Sandman movie, based on the beloved series by Neil Gaiman, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt attached (presumably in the title role).

Published by DC Comics and its Vertigo imprint from 1989 to 1996, The Sandman has had a long, tortured history in Hollywood, with a film adaptation languishing in development throughout the late '90s. Long-held hopes for a television series, initially at HBO), were rekindled in 2010 with news that Warner Bros. Television was negotiating for the rights, with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke tipped to oversee the project. But within months, those plans also stalled.

The Bad Ass Digest report is firmly in the rumor column, as the website even admits the (potential) project is in "the most vestigial of stages," and it's not even clear whether anyone has approached Gaiman (the writer was in on the decision to pass on Kripke's TV pitch, so that could be a major hurdle).

However, if Warner Bros. is indeed entertaining the idea of a Sandman movie, it may reinforce comments Guillermo del Toro made last week to Cinefilos.it (via SuperheroHype) regarding the studio's approach to the DC Comics properties.

"We're still at Warner Bros.," the filmmaker said, referring to Dark Universe (aka Justice League Dark). "They are making plans for the entire DC Universe. All the superheroes, all the mythologies, and part of that is Justice League Dark. They're planning on TV, movies, and all the media, so we have to fit into that plan."