According to creator Neil Gaiman, Michael Jackson wanted to star as Morpheus in Warner Bros. failed The Sandman movie adaptation circa 1996. The English author created The Sandman for DC Comics in 1989, which ran for 75 issues and now serves as the source material for Netflix's adaptation which released its first season on August 5. The adaptation stars Tom Sturridge in the titular role and was developed for television by Gaiman, The Dark Knight trilogy's David S. Goyer, and Wonder Woman's Allen Heinberg.

The first attempts to adapt The Sandman began in 1991, not as a series but as a feature film. The project languished in development hell for over two decades until Goyer pitched a promising film adaptation to Warner Bros. and Gaiman decided to sign on as a producer with The Dark Knight Rises' Joseph Gordon-Levitt attached as lead star and director. However, he departed the project several years later due to creative differences, and the film adaptation never came to fruition. However, it appears there was an even bigger star interested in the role before Gordon-Levitt.

During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz, Gaiman told a story about how Michael Jackson wanted to star in The Sandman. In 1996, Jackson called the then-president of Warner Bros. and asked him if he could star in The Sandman as Morpheus. Read what Gaiman shared below:

By 1996, I was being taken to Warners, where the then-president of Warner Bros sat me down and told me that Michael Jackson had phoned him the day before and asked him if he could star as Morpheus in The Sandman. So, there was a lot of interest in this, and they knew that it was one of the Crown Jewels, and what did I think? And I was like, "Ooh."

Gaiman did not share his thoughts on how Jackson would have portrayed Morpheus, though he did admit to being naive about the casting process, which he thought would be simple, but ended up seeing 1500 auditions for the part over the years. Gaiman has been highly protective of his magnum opus, recently opening up about how he sabotaged a past attempt to adapt The Sandman by leaking a script penned by Man of Steel producer Jon Peters which he thought was "really stupid."

Perhaps in another timeline, Jackson had the opportunity to play Morpheus in a Sandman adaptation instead of Sturridge. The King of Pop probably would have held his own in the lead role, given he was a born performer. He previously showcased his acting ability with starring roles in The Wiz and Moonwalker, along with a cameo in Men in Black II. After three decades of development with various actors attached to the part of Morpheus, The Sandman series is finally a reality and is currently awaiting a season 2 renewal from Netflix.