Disney has now halted development on the upcoming movie adaptation of the young adult novel The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. The decision comes following the recent allegations of sexual assault that were recently made against Gaiman, with insiders telling IndieWire that the movie “has not been scrapped but multiple factors, including the allegations, contributed to putting it on hold.” Director Marc Forster, who is best known for the likes of Quantum of Solace, Monster’s Ball, World War Z, and Christopher Robin, was attached to direct the project. No cast had yet been announced, and Neil Gaiman had no involvement in the adaptation. However, it seems that having his name attached was reason (or, at least, one of several) enough to put the project on pause.
Published in 2008, The Graveyard Book tells the story of Bod, a boy who lives in a graveyard and is raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead. Facing all manner of supernatural dangers, it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, with Bod doing battle with the man who killed his family.
The project being put on hold comes after five women came forward to accuse Gaiman of sexual assault and abuse, with one of the claims dating back to 1986. Each of the claims is separate from each other, dated years apart, with one woman, Caroline Wallner, alleging that, while staying as a tenant in Gaiman’s Woodstock, New York, property, she was coerced into a sexual relationship with the author in exchange for allowing her, and her daughters, to remain living there. Neil Gaiman has since denied the allegations.
What Might This Mean for The Sandman Season 3?
The delay in the adaptation of The Graveyard Book also comes quickly following Netflix’s decision not to proceed with a second season of another Neil Gaiman project, The Sandman spinoff Dead Boy Detectives. While Gaiman reportedly had no involvement in The Graveyard Book movie, these decisions from studios will no doubt have The Sandman fans wondering what might happen to the continuing adventures of Morpheus and The Endless.
Released in 2022 to high viewership and rave reviews, The Sandman brings Gaiman’s graphic novel to the screen for the first time, introducing another world that waits for all of us when we close our eyes and sleep — a place called the Dreaming, where The Sandman, Master of Dreams (Tom Sturridge), gives shape to all of our deepest fears and fantasies. But when Dream is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for a century, his absence sets off a series of events that will change both the dreaming and waking worlds forever.
Audiences have had to wait patiently for a second season, which is now in development. While a release date has not yet been announced, The Sandman Season 2 went before cameras earlier this year and is expected to debut in 2025. However, amid the allegations leveled at Gaiman, should Season 2 be the last we see of The Sandman?