Neil Gaiman Wants Boycotters To Know How Much They’ve Inspired Him
In addition to the passionate fans, Neil Gaiman attributes the longevity of the series to something else: a protest group
This article is more than 2 years old
Novelist and comic writer Neil Gaiman has many claims to fame. He co-wrote Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch with Terry Pratchett. He is the mind behind American Gods, Stardust, and Neverwhere just to name a few. Though quite a few of these have been adapted for the screen, one of his more successful adaptations is Netflix’s procedural Lucifer. Inspired by Gaiman’s character from his comic The Sandman, Lucifer follows the prince of Hell (Tom Ellis) as he takes a vacation from his duties and goes to Los Angeles. There he becomes entangled with local detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) and the two solve crimes with the help of Lucifer’s gifts.
Lucifer’s humorous tone and fantastical elements set it apart from other programming and garnered a wide fan base. The show was initially canceled by Fox after its third season, but found new life on Netflix (via Cinema Blend). In addition to the passionate fans, Neil Gaiman attributes the longevity of the series to something else: a Christian protest group by the name of 1 Million Moms. Since the beginning of the show, 1 Million Moms took issue with the content and did not find anything particularly amusing about depicting The Devil. But Gaiman has stated that without the defiance of the group, Lucifer would not be what it is today. The writer took to Twitter to express his gratitude.
Lucifer ended its final season in 2021 and became one of the most streamed television series of that year, according to Nielsen ratings (via The Hollywood Reporter). This success bodes well for Neil Gaiman’s upcoming adaptation, The Sandman. Gaiman knew that if Lucifer was being boycotted, that meant that the Sandman comic had made its way into pop culture. And now a true adaptation of The Sandman will be hitting Netflix.
The Sandman Netflix series will follow closer to the Neil Gaiman comic and its titular character. The Sandman (who also goes by Dream and sometimes Morpheus) comes from a realm of other deities. While he controls the dreams of mortals, the other beings represent similar concepts. Destiny, Death, and Despair are just a few that are a part of Dream’s cohort. The series will follow Dream after he escapes a century of imprisonment and arrives in the mortal realm.
The main cast of characters include Dream as well as Lucifer. This Lucifer will not be played by Tom Ellis but Gwendoline Christie, in a closer adaptation to the comic. This isn’t the only way that this version of the character is different from the Neil Gaiman property. Lucifer does not solve murders in The Sandman as he does in the Lucifer show. This iteration of the character is slightly more serious as well as cunning.
Neil Gaiman has become so successful with his screen adaptations that there should be no concern about The Sandman. American Gods aired on Starz for 3 seasons while Good Omens season 2 will be returning to Amazon Prime later this year. Gaiman’s work melds the real world and the fantastical in a charming and sometimes dark way. Fans are anticipating yet another version of Lucifer when The Sandman premieres on Netflix.
