Neil Gaiman addressed new rumors regarding the future of two of his most celebrated creations, Coraline and The Sandman.The revered English author recently took to Twitter to debunk two sources of fan speculation related to these popular adaptations of his work. The first involved an alleged sequel to Coraline, said to be in development now and set for release in November 2022. When asked if Coraline 2 was real, Gaiman responded with a flat "No." The second rumor Gaiman shot down concerned the supposed cancelation of The Sandman series on Netflix. The scribe labeled reports that Netflix had shut down the show as "hilarious," and suggested fans shouldn't read too much into The Sandman Season 1 still not having a release date.
Released in 2009, Coraline is a stop-motion animation adaptation of Gaiman's award-winning dark fantasy children's novella of the same name. The film was written and directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas' Henry Sellick and earned rave reviews from critics -- although many noted it was potentially too scary for younger viewers. This didn't stop Coraline from earning $124.6 million at the box office (against a $60 million budget) and nabbing a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards.
Despite the adaptation's critical and commercial success, a Coraline sequel has yet to materialize. Gaiman shared the reason for this in March 2021, explaining that Caroline 2 happening hinges on him coming up with a follow-up worthy of the original. "I'm waiting for a [new] Coraline story that's as good as or better than [the original] Coraline. There's no point in making something less than the first book or movie," Gaiman tweeted at the time.
Netflix's The Sandman is based on the ground-breaking DC Comics fantasy series created by Gaiman and artists Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg that ran from 1989 to 1996. Several failed attempts at a big-screen adaptation of the comic -- which revolves around the lord of dreams, Morpheus, and his siblings, The Endless -- were attempted, before Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment decided the property was better suited to TV. Netflix acquired the rights to The Sandman and filming began in 2020.
Since then, the production has shared a steady trickle of updates, including a first look at the show's faithful take on the Sandman comics. Gaiman also tweeted a lengthy thread announcing the series' key cast members, including Tom Sturridge as Morpheus, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death. While some fans objected to Christie and Howell-Baptiste's casting, Gaiman rejected these complaints as racist and sexist.
The Sandman does not yet have a release date. It is expected to premiere on Netflix sometime in 2022.
Source: Twitter