The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman assures fans the series is safe after a reported dispute between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. Ever since its debut in August, The Sandman has boasted impressive numbers. According to Netflix's charts, the comic book adaptation logged 69.5 million hours viewed in the first three days of its debut. A little over a month after its premiere, in late September, the show was watched for over 393 million hours in total. Many of those fans rallied for a season 2 renewal, which was finally confirmed in November.

Now, many of those same fans are wondering whether The Sandman will be affected by a reported issue between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. Even though the adaptation streams on Netflix, it's co-produced by Warner Bros. Television, and according to reports, the two sides have recently found themselves in a disagreement over payment terms. In the tweet below, however, Gaiman assures fans that the dispute will not affect The Sandman season 2:

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What's Going On With Warner Bros. & Netflix?

The Sandman talking to someone

David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, is said to be unhappy with the way that Netflix's deals are structured, as they essentially pay producers like Warner Bros. Television every 18 to 24 months. This is not a new development, as these terms were set some years ago. Warner Bros. Television helps to produce some of Netflix's biggest dramas: in addition to The Sandman, it's behind the romantic thriller YOU and the mystery saga Manifest. Netflix also licenses some major shows from WBTV, such as The Flash, Riverdale, All American, and Supernatural.

The report, which came from Deadline on December 9, stated that Zaslav expressed his unhappiness to other executives and gave an instruction to stop selling finished shows to Netflix for a few weeks. It's said that this issue contributed to the long delay in announcing The Sandman, even though it should have been a relatively quick decision from a business standpoint, given the big viewership numbers and its potential for becoming a key component of a larger franchise. Already, there has been some talk of Sandman spinoffs, for characters like Johanna Constantine.

At the very least, from the perspective of The Sandman fans, the dispute provides additional clarity on why the renewal took a bit of time to come through. Hopefully, it means that audiences looking forward to the adaptation's return won't have to worry about its fate. Instead, they can look forward to story updates and sneak previews of what's to come.

More: Sandman: Netflix's 'Johanna' Constantine Confusion & Backlash Explained

Source: Neil Gaiman/Twitter