The Sandman writer Neil Gaiman says that The Dead Boy Detectives series are in full swing and filming on HBO Max. The author revealed that the show is in production while answering posts on the social media platform Twitter.
The Dead Boy Detectives debuted in the third season of Doom Patrol in the episode Dead Patrol. The characters themselves were original creations of Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones III. They first appeared in The Sandman No. 25, which was released in April 1991.
In Doom Patrol, the two dead boys were played by Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant as Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland, respectively. The characters were accompanied by a medium named Crystal Palace, who was portrayed by Madalyn Horcher. Palace is a newer character who first appeared in Dead Boy Detectives No 1 in December 2013.
It was announced back in September 2021 that HBO Max wanted a pilot based on The Dead Boy Detectives. Even though a lot of fans would have wanted a spinoff from Doom Patrol, this is a new original series. There is no connection to their original TV debut.
Paine and Rowland will be played by George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri respectively. And Palace will be played by Kassius Nelson.
Neil Gaiman’s Dead Boy Detectives Is Alive And Well On HBO Max
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The pilot episode was directed by Lee Toland Krieger, who has directed episodes of Shadow and Bone, Superman and Lois, and You. He’s been a longtime collaborator with Greg Berlanti. The show is written by Steve Yockey, who is known for shows like The Flight Attendant, and Supernatural.
Things seemed to have gone well, because in April 2022, there was an order to make one season with eight episodes.
It’s been months since we’ve heard anything about the new show.
Just recently, English writer Toby Litt talked on Twitter about The Dead Boy Detectives currently in production by posting:
The #DeadBoyDetectives TV show is definitely happening.
They’re filming it now with, like, sets and directors and everything.
Finding this quite hard to believe.
The #DeadBoyDetectives TV show is definitely happening.
They're filming it now with, like, sets and directors and everything.
Finding this quite hard to believe.@hbomax @neilhimself @sxbond https://t.co/s0noP9U7Ty
— Toby Litt (@tobylitt) January 24, 2023
Because of WBD’s recent restructuring, many doubt that things are developing.
Many fans were worried about the show, mainly because there were so many shows that were being cancelled under Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). Stargirl just finished its final season last December 2022, and The Flash is about to start its ninth and final season this coming February. Even shows that haven’t started got cancelled, like Batman: Caped Crusader and Strange Adventures.
More recently, HBO Max announced the cancellation of Doom Patrol and Titans. So, I completely understand the worry. I’m a Sandman fan myself and I want to see The Dead Boy Detectives too.
Neil Gaiman Confirms That Dead Boy Detectives Development Is Doing Good
Credit: HBO Max
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But not long after Toby Litt’s tweet, Neil Gaiman replied saying:
And it’s so good.
And it's so good. https://t.co/l66zWnC0vr
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) January 24, 2023
This short message gave confidence to fans that the show is in mid-production and hasn’t been cancelled by HBO Max so far.
We wonder how involved Neil Gaiman is in the upcoming series. So far, he’s been hands-on with Amazon Prime’s Good Omens and Netflix’s The Sandman. And both projects have gotten a lot of praise from critics and the audience.
I also wonder if they’ll adapt The Children’s Crusade, which was a DC/Vertigo crossover event that mainly featured the Dead Boy Detectives in their first case. Or will they adapt stories from the more recent comics? I think they have enough content from the comics to have a few seasons. Let’s hope that the new series will last more than one season.
Besides being a well-known writer, Neil Gaiman is also known for TV shows based on his literary works like Good Omens, American Gods, and more recently, The Sandman. Even the show Lucifer is based on Gaiman’s interpretation of the devil from Sandman. He also has films based on his work, like Coraline and Stardust.
What do you think of Neil Gaiman’s approval of The Dead Boy Detectives? Are you looking forward to watching the new series? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
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