Many consider Netflix’s The Sandman to be one of the best adaptations of creator Neil Gaiman’s work. A combination of creative freedom, a large budget, strong visual effects, and good timing went into making the lavish fantasy series such a success, and the series has topped streaming charts across the globe. But of course, the path to The Sandman is littered with attempted adaptations that never quite hit the mark. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Gaiman reflected on the long journey The Sandman has taken to the screen.

While multiple directors and actors have been attached to The Sandman at one point or another, Gaiman shared how he sabotaged one of the worst attempts at a film version. Iconic film executive film executive Jon Peters brought Gaiman a script for The Sandman in the late ’90s, that would have seen Dream, the Corinthian, and Lucifer as triplets on a mission to recover Dream’s tools. When asked his thoughts on the script, Gaiman told Peters, “There was nothing in there I loved. There was nothing in there I liked. It was the worst script that I’ve ever read by anybody. It’s not just the worst Sandman script. That was the worst script I’ve ever been sent.”