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On November 9, 2016, Junot Díaz conversed with Neil Gaiman in celebration of the publication of The Sandman: Overture, at Congregation Beth Elohim. Gaiman discusses Overture as well as the entire history of Sandman for ninety minutes! There are a lot of amazing revelations. You don’t have to watch this… you can just listen while […]

Though only loosely based on the comics, Lucifer is meant to take place between Lucifer’s exit in The Sandman and the beginning of the comic Lucifer, said Executive Producer Ildy Modrovich in an interview, rather than act as a television interpretation of the comic.

“At the end of Sandman, Lucifer leaves Hell to go to LA and open a piano bar,” Modrovich said. “So we’re sticking right there. Right there in the reality, the grounded world. We’re never going to go to Hell, we’re never going to go to Heaven. So it’s all about his fascination with humanity, trying to figure out if he can actually care about something other than himself.”

Modrovich also said some characters from The Sandman could show up in the show’s future, depending on whether DC would permit it.

Set to air on Fox in 2016, Lucifer stars Tom Ellis as the devil, who has recently vacated Hell to explore life on Earth, where he begins to help the LAPD solve crimes. The show will use a hybrid of episodic and serialized storytelling, according to the producers.

Ellis said he was drawn to the character from the pilot’s script, but had no idea what the source material was.

“I didn’t know it was based on a comic until I read on Deadline that I’d got the job and it was based on a DC comic,” he said. “Which I’m kind of glad about, because it might have altered my approach slightly. But now I’m reading them avidly.”

Modrovich said adapting the series has come with its set of challenges, both from fans of the property and others who had religious objections.

“When it was first announced, there were a lot of haters. Because when you’re talking about comic books, people are serious. They’re not messing around. And I don’t blame them, because Lucifer is a gorgeous comic, it’s beautiful,” she said. “So I think they were upset to hear ‘Oh, they’re going to make a cop show.’ But I feel like if they watch it for what it is, they’ll like what it is.”

The religious objection Modrovich alluded to includes a petition from AFA website One Million Moms to prevent the show from airing, claiming the series will “glorify Satan as a caring, likable person in human flesh.”

Lucifer also stars DB Woodside as Amenadiel, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze, and Lauren German as Chloe Dance.

– Remember how we were discussing the release of the webseries prequel to the upcoming Bruce Timm produced Justice League: Gods and Monsters? Well, the first episode is officially here and can be watched below:

Episodes 2 and 3 will see release on the 10th and 12th of this month respectively.

– In spite of the strides that have been made on the production side of DC-related film properties, all’s been rather quiet on The Sandman front even though it’s been in the works with the current team (headed up by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) since December 2013. MTV recently caught up with the actor/director and got an update on the project:

It’s really good, man. It’s slow but steady. It’s a really complicated adaptation because those comics, they’re brilliant. But they’re not written as a whole. It’s not like ‘Watchmen,’ which is a graphic novel that has a beginning, middle, and end. ‘Sandman’ was written over the course of whatever — I forget exactly, six or seven years. One at a time. One little 20-page issue at a time. And to try to take that and make it into something that’s a feature film — a movie that has a beginning, middle, and end — is complicated. I’m feeling really good about it, but it is a process, so please be patient.

Big spectacular action movies are generally about crime fighters fighting crime and blowing sh-t up. This has nothing to do with that, and it was actually one of the things that Neil Gaiman said to me, he said ‘Don’t have him punch anybody.’ Because he never does. If you read the comics, Morpheus doesn’t punch anybody. That’s not what he does. It’s going to be like a grand spectacular action film, but that relies on none of those same old ordinary cliches. So, that’s why it’s taking a lot time to write, but it’s going to be really good.

Gordon-Levitt is reportedly set to direct the film, with a script by Jack Thorne. No actor has been set in the role of Morpheus as of yet. I’m really keeping my fingers crossed for this one, and hopeful that no news remains good news, but in Hollywood, that often means development hell.

– This weekend sees the release of the new relaunch of the Jurassic Park franchise in Jurassic World. I’ll be catching it tomorrow at the press screening, but for those who are taking a look at in IMAX this weekend, you’ll be in for a treat as Marvel is debuting a 6-minute preview for Ant-Man in front of all IMAX presentations of the film:

Any readers that catch it over the weekend, let me know how it looks!

This charming story is perfectly suited for reading at bedtime—and best geared to readers aged 7 and older. Young readers will enjoy reading the story on their own but its comedic styling also makes it fun to read aloud. It is a dangerously exciting story but has a soothing end. The rhythm of the words and the playful tone of the story help to put bedtime fears to rest.