Neil Gaiman Interested In Sandman Spinoff About Johanna Constantine

Jenna Coleman, who plays Johanna Constantine in Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman, says Neil Gaiman is interested in a spin-off about the character.

The Sandman actor Jenna Coleman says that creator Neil Gaiman is interested in exploring a spin-off centered on her character, Johanna Constantine. Coleman plays two related characters in The Sandman season 1 – 21st century Johanna Constantine and her 18th century ancestor, Lady Johanna. While Lady Johanna exists in Gaiman’s The Sandman comics, Johanna Constantine functions as a sort of replacement for comics character John Constantine. The gender-bending switch occurred as a result of complications regarding the rights to John Constantine’s character due to his upcoming appearance in an in-development Justice League Dark for HBO Max.

Though the modern-day Johanna serves a similar function to John and retains his complicated, dark history with Astra Logue (Nina Galano) among other features, such as his abilities, the characters have some significant differences. Netflix’s The Sandman upgrades modern-day Constantine into a successful exorcist whose clients include the Royal Family, rather than a struggling sorcerer. Coleman’s entertaining stint as both modern-day Constantine and Lady Johanna has already left viewers wondering whether she will return in The Sandman season 2.

Related: Sandman: Netflix’s ‘Johanna’ Constantine Confusion & Backlash Explained

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Coleman discussed her initial thoughts on her Sandman character. She also described her experience with The Sandman fan outcry for a Johanna Constantine spin-off, which she revealed Gaiman actually brought to her attention. According to Coleman, Gaiman is “really behind” the idea. See Coleman’s full quote below:

“One of the reasons that I wanted to [play Constantine] was that the character felt so formed, and what was really thoughtful of Neil and Allan [Heinberg] is that they sent the script over to me, but they didn’t tell me who the character was. So I didn’t know it was Constantine when I read it. So I formed my own thoughts about who this person was without having any preconceptions of Constantine before, which was really smart. But yeah, Neil filled me in [about calls for a spin-off]. He and Allan are really behind it. They seem to think it would be a good idea.”

What Johanna Constantine’s Sandman Spinoff Could Be About

Because Coleman plays two versions of Johanna Constantine, there is ripe potential for storylines to mine in a possible spin-off. Of course, Gaiman could just as easily create a new plot for the character that the comics weren’t able to explore based on his interest in the project. However, if the spin-off were to stick with The Sandman comics, there is plenty of material present for a Lady Johanna Constantine spin-off set in the 18th century. The spin-off could explore the details of the character’s youth and childhood, which were vaguely referenced by the orphaned character’s knowledge of the hardships that can happen to little girls on London’s streets. With the character’s fascinating history, starting with her parents’ treason convictions and then progressing to her regaining her previous fortune and title when King George III had her retrieve Pandora’s Box, she had an interesting life before even meeting Dream in 1789. The spin-off could also center on the rescue job Johanna accomplished for Morpheus and his son Orpheus in 1794.

If the spin-off were to center on present-day Johanna, the changes that The Sandman has made to the source material offer a number of unforeseen directions for that character. It’s possible that Johanna’s work as an exorcist could be tackled in a grounded, case-of-the-week style series with the potential to feature plenty of comics cameos and cross over with Netflix’s The Sandman. Whether a spin-off does occur or not, Coleman’s version of the character is likely to return in The Sandman season 2, which will hopefully be confirmed soon.

Next: Why John Constantine Isn’t In The Sandman

Source: THR