Joseph Gordon-Levitt to produce film adaptation of The Sandman

The Dark Knight Rises star confirmed he will work on the project on Twitter

Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be producing The Sandman alongside writers Neil Gaiman and David Goyer (Getty Images)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has confirmed that he will produce and star in a film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s comic book series, The Sandman.

The 32-year-old actor is best-known for his major roles in Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises, Brick and Looper. He was widely tipped to become the next Batman before Ben Affleck was cast in the lead.

Gordon-Levitt made his directorial debut with Don Jon, which he also wrote, earlier this year.

Now, he will be working on The Sandman project with Warner Bros. Gaiman will be executive producer and The Dark Knight Rises writer David Goyer is to supervise the screenplay.

The announcement from Gordon-Levitt came in a series of tweets.

The first message read: "Ladies and gentleman, I'm incredibly honored to be working with David Goyer, Warner Bros, and @neilhimself on SANDMAN. #Prelude".

No solid details about the film have been released as yet but as Gordon-Levitt used the hashtag ‘#prelude’ in his tweet about The Sandman, fans are suggesting that the story will focus on the first eight issues of the comic, collected in a paperback called Preludes & Nocturnes.

The plot of the comics tells the story of the Lord of Dreams – known as Dream or Morpheus – who is a personification of dreams, newly released after being held prisoner for 70 years.

The 75 issues of The Sandman follow Dream/Morpheus as he rebuilds his kingdom in the outside world alongside his brothers and sisters, the Endless (Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny).

Genre-wise, The Sandman is a mix between horror and fantasy and has built a dedicated following after the first comic was released in 1989. During the mid-1990s, The Sandman outsold Superman and Batman comics.

Film adaptations have been attempted in the past, but no project has gained enough momentum to materialise.

After news of the forthcoming movie, rumours began circulating that Gordon-Levitt will be starring in the lead as Morpheus/Dream and may also be working in a directorial role.

In response, the actor then tweeted: "Just to clarify folks. I've signed on as a producer on Sandman. The rest remains to be seen. Delighted you guys are excited. I am too!"