The first look at Netflix's The Sandman showed stunning accuracy to the comic series of the same name that it adapts, but there were some notable differences as well. One of these was the coloring of the lead character's eyes, and The Sandman comics author Neil Gaiman explained the change through a comparison to another classic DC character: Batman himself.

Gaiman, who is an executive producer on the Netflix series, responded to a question about Dream's eyes that he received on his Tumblr. "That sandman trailer looks great but now I'm curious, will Morpheus have his star eyes at any point in the show?" asked a fan with the username @lilydvoratrelundar, referring to the way the Sandman, called Dream or Morpheus, is generally drawn with black eyes that each have a single bright point of light.

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"Sometimes, yes," Gaiman replied. "Not often." Although some fans may have been disappointed that Dream's distinctive eyes haven't yet been seen on Tom Sturridge's portrayal of the character, this can at least assure them that a version of the effect will show up at some point in the series.

Gaiman also explained the reasons behind the decision to make that change, pointing out that Batman, a comic book fixture who has seen countless adaptations, has never looked the same in live action as he does in comics and animation. Once he dons his cowl, his eyes are shown only as white spaces, which even high-budget modern movies don't mimic. "For the same reason that live action Batmans don’t ever have the comics’ Batman’s blank white eyes – I’ve always been disappointed that they never do, but I’ve always understood it," Gaiman wrote. "Sometimes you need the eyes to convey information."

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Even with that understanding, the production team on The Sandman apparently made a game attempt to give Sturridge the same eyes as his comics counterpart. Gaiman concluded his post saying, "We did a lot of make-up, contact lens and CGI trials, tests and experiments starting out, and reluctantly came to the conclusion that we didn’t want to lose Tom’s eyes, because when we did we diminished the magic of his performance."

Season 1 of The Sandman, and all of Dream's magic, will be coming exclusively to Netflix. A release date has not yet been announced.

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Source: Tumblr