Although talk about a film adaptation for Neil Gaiman’s Sandman have been circulating for years, a new rumor has surfaced thanks to Badass Digest, who says that the movie is being pitched to Warner Brothers by The Dark Knight Rises screenwriter David Goyer. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s name has been tied to the rumor for the starring role of the Dream King Morpheus, but further reading of the original article states this as mere speculation.

Trusted sources tell me that David Goyer has pitched Warner Bros a take on Sandman, Neil Gaiman’s career-defining comic, and the studio has been very receptive. Geoff Johns, DC’s Hollywood man, is very behind Goyer’s version. And what’s more, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is involved, almost certainly intending to play Morpheus, the lead character. Levitt’s gonna deny this, just like he’s denied a lot of other stuff that was true, by the way.

Now, caveat number one: this is early stuff. The Preacher/AMC news came to me when that was pretty much a done deal, Sandman is still in the most vestigial of stages. I’m not even sure that anyone has spoken to Neil Gaiman about this yet. If anyone other than Goyer were pitching this I’d ignore it as news, but Goyer being WB’s go-to comic book movie guy – and the support of Johns – elevates this to a different level.

Caveat number two: I’m making the assumption that Levitt’s involvement is as an actor. There’s a small chance that the Don Jon helmer could be trying to make a leap to big budget stuff with this. That seems kinda unlikely, and I think Levitt as Morpheus remains the most probable reason for his involvement.

I have to respectfully disagree on JGL being tied to the film for the role of Morpheus. With such a wealth of characters to choose from, assuming an actor who doesn’t really fit the part is going to snag the lead role at such an early point is only going to cause unnecessary rumblings. But then again, we live in a world where Ben Affleck is the Batman.