The Hollywood Reporter ran the story that screenwriter Eric Heisserer has been brought in to the Sandman project at New Line to pen the script, which is being directed and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt joined the Sandman project when it was at Warner Bros. back in 2013, attached to produce alongside David Goyer, who wrote a treatment for the film adaptation of the DC Vertigo character, which New Line hope to have a trilogy franchise on their hands.

Sandman tells the tale of Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams. The comic book began in the horror realm but quickly made its mark in fantasy and mythology as Neil Gaiman, the author of the series, introduced the Endless, a group of powerful brothers and sisters that includes Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium (as well as Dream).

Walter Hamada and Dave Neustadter are overseeing the project for New Line. Eric Heisserer’s credits include the remakes of A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Thing, Final Destination 5, recently The Conjuring 2, Lights Out and The Story of Your Life.

Back last year at the Spike TV Guys Choice Awards, Joseph Gordon-Levitt had this to say about the project:

Big spectacular action movies are generally about, like, crime fighters fighting crime and blowing shit up. This has nothing to do with that. It was actually one of the things that Neil Gaiman said to me, he said ‘Don’t have him punch anything.’ Because he never does. If you read the comics, Morpheus doesn’t punch anybody. That’s not what he does. And so, it’s going to be like a grand, spectacular action film, but that relies on none of those same old ordinary cliches.

I’m glad that The Sandman project is moving forward at New Line, though I’m not really sold on Eric Heisserer being attached, mainly due to his previous work, especially A Nightmare On Elm Street and The Thing as I didn’t care for either film.