Multiple Neil Gaiman Movies And TV Shows Canceled And Suspended

Despite earning initial praise from critics, Dead Boy Detectives was cancelled by Netflix in August 2024 after just one season. The show, which took place in the same fictional universe as Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, enjoyed a somewhat successful debut, appearing in Nielsen’s top 10 original streaming series two separate times following its premiere.

However, the supernatural mystery series quickly fell out of favor among viewers, likely contributing to the show’s early demise. The cancellation of Dead Boy Detectives, however, occurred before any of the Neil Gaiman allegations came to light.

Among the handful of Neil Gaiman TV shows and movies that have seen an abrupt suspension of production is the third and final season of Good Omens, which had already jump-started pre-production for the Amazon Prime Video and BBC Studios’ show.

The comedy is based on Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

With the show being Neil Gaiman’s most hands-on project, serving as executive producer, writer, and showrunner, the 63-year-old author offered to step away from the show’s production in August 2024.

Additionally, the current development of the Disney film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 2008 young adult novel The Graveyard Book has also been put on hold for the foreseeable future.

Insiders have reported that while the film has not been completely scrapped, the allegations made against Neil Gaiman have forced Disney to slow down on the production and weigh its options.

The film had reportedly been stuck in development limbo since Miramax first announced the film adaptation back in 2009.

Following a couple of different changes of hands, Disney acquired the rights to the film in 2012 but failed to greenlight a production. In July 2022, director Marc Forster agreed to come aboard, working with a script penned by screenwriter David Magee.

Unlike other Neil Gaiman TV shows and movies, the popular author announced that he was not involved in the production of The Graveyard Book.

In July 2024, Tortoise Media reported that two women had accused Neil Gaiman of sexual assault, with one of the women filing a police complaint against the author in New Zealand.

Commenting on the situation, Neil Gaiman vehemently denied the allegations and questioned their validity, arguing that he offered to fully cooperate with police in New Zealand in 2022.

Despite Neil Gaiman’s claims, police in New Zealand released a statement that authorities had made a “number of attempts to speak to key people as part of this investigation and those efforts remain ongoing,” the statement read. The sexual assault allegation involves a woman who worked as a nanny for Neil Gaiman before engaging in a consensual sexual relationship.

However, the woman alleges that non-consensual sexual contact occurred several times throughout the relationship, with Neil Gaiman becoming rough and degrading.

Following the original allegations, three more women have stepped forward, accusing the Good Omens author of sexual assault. As for now, the production of several Neil Gaiman TV shows and movies will remain on hold until investigations into the allegations against the author have been completed.

Source: The Guardian