David S. Goyer and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is still in the early stages of development, but Gaiman has some ideas about who should play the titular lead role, who sometimes goes by the name Morpheus.

"It's a funny thing with Morpheus. Again, it's that thing where you look around and think, 'Yes this person would be a fantastic person', and then time passes," Gaiman tells RadioTimes.com. "There was a time Johnny Depp would've been a great Morpheus, but now he's too old and it's fine. I think the first time I saw Benedict [Cumberbatch] was as Sherlock Holmes, I thought, 'wow, that's incredibly Morpheus'. And fans probably thought the same because they immediately started doing fan-art, meshing the two of them up."

Cumberbatch is now tied up with Doctor Strange, but Gaiman has another actor in mind, and it’s a Marvel Studios veteran.

"Then again, Tom Hiddleston is still out there! And the truth is, as far as I'm concerned, anybody who sounds English with great cheekbones can probably pull it off."

The fact that Gaiman, who is creatively involved as a producer on the film, is talking about potential actors for the role is a little surprising, simply because rumor had it that Gordon-Levitt was looking to both direct and star in the film. Perhaps those plans have been altered so that Gordon-Levitt can focus on directing what seems like quite a challenging adaptation.