Neil Gaiman has shared his picks for the role of Morpheus in the upcoming Sandman adaptation. Both Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston are on his wishlist.
Exactly a year ago, we had our last major update on Sandman: Joseph Gordon-Levitt was set to direct and star in the graphic novel adaptation, with the script written by Batman v Superman‘s David S. Goyer.
Since then, Gordon-Levitt has taken a step back, currently only set to produce the movie.
Speaking to Radio Times, Neil Gaiman shares his choices for the role of Morpheus.
“There was a time Johnny Depp would’ve been a great Morpheus,” Gaiman says, “but now he’s too old, and it’s fine.”
Gaiman’s next top pick was Benedict Cumberbatch. “I think the first time I saw Benedict [Cumberbatch] was as Sherlock Holmes. I thought, ‘wow, that’s incredibly Morpheus’,” Gaiman reflects. “And fans probably thought the same because they immediately started doing fan-art, meshing the two of them up.”
However, Benedict Cumberbatch has recently been cast as the title character of Marvel’s Doctor Strange, which rules him out if they want this movie made within the next few years.
“Then again, Tom Hiddleston is still out there!” Gaiman enthuses. Although he adds that, “as far as I’m concerned, anybody who sounds English with great cheekbones can probably pull it off.”
So that also includes actors like Eddie Redmayne, Cillian Murphy, Colin Morgan and David Tennant, we imagine. And if Joseph Gordon-Levitt does end up starring, he would at least live up to the cheekbone requirement.
And, after all, there are six other major roles to cast if the movie is set to follow the comic: the Sandman – or Dream – is only one of seven Endless. The others are Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium and Destruction.