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For decades, Neil Gaiman has been an outspoken advocate against assault and abuse, especially against women. And now, reports indicate five women have come forward accusing the author of sexual assault that go back as far as 1986. As a result, the Walt Disney Company have called a halt to a planned live-action movie adaptation of one of his prose novels.

As first reported by IndieWire (and then confirmed by Deadline), Disney has "paused" development onan adaptation of Gaiman's 2008 YA prose novel The Graveyard Book after 12 years of active development - which included iterations to be directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas' Henry Selick, Apollo 13's Ron Howard, and up until this week, Quantum of Solace's Marc Forster. Both Indiewire and Deadline, while not citing a source, say that Gaiman wasn't working with Disney on the project - nor that Gaiman's sexual assault allegations were the sole reason for shelving the movie project (although both outlets do not mention any other reasons). 

This all comes two months after reports from the British news outlet Tortoise Media began in early July which paint a picture of a repeated pattern of sexual assault going back to the mid '80s according to the site. The alleged victims include a former household assistant, a nanny, a fan, and a publicist. Some have gone on-record by name with Tortoise Media over the allegations, while others have used a pseudonym.

According to Tortoise Media, several of these incidents led to Gaiman (and his lawyers) paying out considerable money to the alleged victims - contingent with the alleged victims signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (known as an NDA) that included verbiage stating the agreement "disputes and denies" that the other party "sustained any losses, damages, or injuries for which Gaiman is legally responsible.”

The "pause" on Disney's adaptation of The Graveyard Book is the first reported project delay caused by reports of Gaiman's actions. Gaiman is also continues as a showrunner on Amazon's Prime Video Good Omens series (which is currently developing a third season), with his co-showrunner (and series director) Douglas Mackinnon quitting the series in October 2023. He is also executive producer of Netflix's The Sandman adaptation, which is currently shooting a second season. Gaiman is currently co-chair of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund's advisory board, and is on the advisory board at Bard College's Fisher Center.