“Lucifer” was a popular show, inspired by DC Comics character of the same name Lucifer Morningstar, that found a final home on Netflix for its last few seasons. However, “Lucifer” originally came from another DC property from Neil Gaiman relating to a series simply titled “The Sandman”. Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” certainly doesn’t come off as a DC Comics title but characters such as Batman, Martian Manhunter, Constantine, Green Lantern, and others make small appearances in the series. While “The Sandman” explored themes of mythological proportions, “Lucifer” pulled more directly from the Bible, which immediately separates these stories from each other. Overall, “The Sandman” could be a standalone series but DC gave the series a bit of special treatment, much like Watchmen, by incorporating that respective universe into existing DC properties with their Vertigo label. Below, we’ve gone into detail on the original Sandman comic book series, Lucifer’s evolution from Fox to Netflix, the history of attempting to create live-action Sandman, and more about how Netflix’s “The Sandman” isn’t “Lucifer”.
Original Sandman
“The Sandman” is a very extensive graphic novel, showing why it’s so strongly attached to the DC trademark without having what could be considered commercial DC characters. Although “Lucifer” exploded into the scene, “The Sandman” is the original content for this handsome devil and his exploits but “The Sandman” doesn’t depict the character of Lucifer in the buddy cop detective way he is in “Lucifer” on Netflix. While below we talked more about the portrayal and overall character differences in the television series, where we’re gone into more detail about the Sandman comics and their portrayal of the original Lucifer character, as well as the difference in setting. The original Sandman comics didn’t take place in such direct places as Los Angeles, Heaven, or Hell but more in other dimensions as the being depicted in these comics are eternal beings of immense power. Overall, “The Sandman” was a deeply intricate series that was not only a huge fan favorite but also has fans itself deep within the comic book world among creators.
Lucifer
The show premiered originally on Fox but was canceled by the network and quickly brought to Netflix for its, seemingly endless, final episodes and seasons. In typical Netflix fashion, the seasons premiered in parts providing 2 sections to a season. Netflix has done this for other projects such as “The Ranch” and “Money Heist” where they refer to seasons as parts instead, which leads to more of a connected, grander storytelling experience. While above we talked about “Lucifer” in the original Sandman comics, here we’ve gone into more detail about “Lucifer” and its differences, small and large, from the original content. “Lucifer” takes very direct inspiration from the Bible, related literature, and inspiration from “The Sandman” comics, as well as some real figures in various forms of history.
The Long History of Attempting to Bring Sandman to Life
Over many years, various productions have attempted to bring “The Sandman” to the big, or small, screen but the projects never came to fruition for one reason or another. This time around, however, Neil Geisman feels comfortable enough with this project to let it reach audiences. Since the 1990s, Warner Bros. has tried to bring “The Sandman” to film with a rotating door of possible talent to spearhead the project until apparently delivering Neil Gaiman such a terrible script that it was seemingly the end of that specific attempt. From there, projects involving “The Sandman” were tossed between different directors, screenwriters, and studios until eventually, DC attempted to create a television show involving “The Sandman” universe. Officially in 2019, Netflix announced they were releasing our first attempt at bringing the world of “The Sandman” to our screens but Netflix’s “The Sandman” is going to be very different from Lucifer, in many ways.
Netflix’s The Sandman
When Netflix brings their highly-anticipated rendition of “The Sandman”, we will be given Lucifer once again but don’t expect it to be the same Lucifer character. First off, we won’t be getting Tom Ellis to play the role or even a male as the show is going in a refreshing direction with a female actor in the role of “Lucifer”. This is especially refreshing as to truly separate the shows at first glance and avoid any confusion with the characters that may occur with confused or unknowledgeable viewers. We don’t have too many confirmed details about the show itself yet except for cast choices and some small details but a project like this deserves all the mystery possible. Overall, as a fan of The Sandman comics, you could either love or hate “Lucifer”, but regardless Netflix’s “The Sandman” isn’t “Lucifer” in any way but fans of the recently ended, Netflix revived hit should be pleased with the dark fantasy theme the show is expected to bring.
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