The world of Neil Gaiman's amazing Sandman continues to expand from the comics page to the big and small screen. There's a film on the way with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and last fall we learned Fox was developing a TV series based on Lucifer, a spinoff from the comic. Now we know Len Wiseman, director of Underworld and the Total Recall remake, will direct the pilot which Fox has now ordered.
Like many of Gaiman's projects, he used mythological basis as the springboard to broader stories exploring spiritual, social, and political issues, usually with a healthy dose of humor. His version of Lucifer was largely based on John Milton's book, Paradise Lost, and featured the character as a fallen angel with dominion over Hell. Eventually he grew tired of it all, especially human judgments on good and evil, and ventured to Earth for more human experiences by opening a piano bar in L.A.
The TV series will be different in that it will be a police procedural that has Lucifer abandoning his throne to help the LAPD solve crimes. Because there aren't enough cop shows on TV already, and supernatural cop shows at that. Hopefully this turns out better than Sleepy Hollow which is a complete mess if you ask me. Guess who directed the pilot for Sleepy Hollow? Len Wiseman.
