Yesterday came the disheartening news that Joseph Gordon-Levitt had left the long-in-the-works feature adaptation of Neil Gaiman's classic "Sandman" series. The announcement was a blow to fans, as Gordon-Levitt was set to potentially director, produce, and star in the film, giving the adaptation the most life it had seen in years.

Now, the author has commented on the star's departure via Twitter. After re-tweeting Gordon-Levitt's announcement, Gaiman mentioned his hope to work with the actor on a different project in the future, and clarified some questions regarding the ownership of the Sandman character.

Below, read the series of Tweets (note that some Tweets have been screenshot to include the quoted question Gaiman responded to.)

And, for the record, my respect for @hitRECordJoe, is undiminished. Getting to know him was the best bit of the last round. He's special.- Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 5, 2016

Reminder for the curious: I don't own SANDMAN. @DCComics does. I don't choose who writes scripts, the director, producer or cast.- Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 6, 2016

For me, what's important is the 2,500 pages of SANDMAN, not a movie that may or may not ever happen. https://t.co/6NZe47nvJ4- Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 6, 2016

Gordon-Levitt himself responded to one of the first tweet, as you can see below.

@hitRECordJoe me too.- Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 6, 2016