Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
Like waking up from a nightmare, fans of Netflix’s adaptation of ‘The Sandman’, created by Neil Gaiman, have now learned the good news: the streaming service has renewed the show for a second season.
The news broke unexpectedly and – we’d have to assume – not in the fashion that Netflix would have preferred, as a tweet about the renewal from the official DC Comics account went online earlier than planned.
It was since confirmed by both Gaiman (via his own tweet) and Netflix.
The rumours are true. Netflix is thrilled that so many of you have been watching Sandman, and the thing we were all hoping would happen… has indeed happened… pic.twitter.com/zc5CrhsdZK
‘Sandman’, for those who might be unfamiliar, was a 75-issue DC/Vertigo comics series published in the 1990s. Gaiman’s own one-line synopsis was: “The lord of dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision,” yet the sprawling series takes in pantheons and mythologies from across the globe, via threads about fantastical quests, serial killers, road trips, and short stories only tangentially connected to the core narrative. Many tales featured Dream’s siblings, the Endless: Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire, and Delirium. There are some characters – such as members of his own family – who are happy to see Dream return, while others are not so sure this is a good thing.
“Millions upon millions of people have welcomed and watched and loved ‘The Sandman’ on Netflix, from established ‘Sandman’ fans to people who were simply curious, and then became obsessed with the Lord of Dreams, his family and their goings-on,” Gaiman said in a statement.
Season 1 only covered roughly two of the 10 trade paperbacks that make up the majority of the ‘Sandman’ story. Which means there is a wealth of material still to bring to screens.
(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
“There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them (not to mention more members of the Endless Family to meet),” Gaiman continued. “Nobody is going to be happier about this than the ‘Sandman’ cast and crew: They are the biggest Sandman fans there are. And now it’s time to get back to work. There’s a family meal ahead, after all. And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell…”
Unlike ‘Good Omens’, Gaiman wasn’t the showrunner on ‘Sandman’, though he was deeply involved (including co-writing the first episode). Show boss Allan Heinberg will also be back for the new season.
“I’m profoundly grateful to Netflix and to Warner Bros. — to the artists and crew who made our first 11 episodes so magical — and to the extraordinary fans of ‘The Sandman’ who advocated tirelessly — endlessly — on the show’s behalf and made it possible for us to continue telling Morpheus’ story,” showrunner Heinberg tells Netflix’s Tudum blog.
Given the complexity of the show, we can’t imagine it’ll be back before 2024, but at least we know it’ll be back.
Arriving on Netflix August 5th, ‘The Sandman’ is the culmination of years of efforts to bring Neil Gaiman’s classic graphic novel series to screens.
Filmmakers including Joseph Gordon-Levitt (‘Inception’), Roger Avery (‘Pulp Fiction’) and Eric Heisserer (‘Arrival’) have all tried to crack the code and bring Gaiman’s story to theaters. But in all the years of trying, no one has gotten close to making it happen. And Gaiman has gone on record as saying that one or two of the scripts he’s written (not by those listed above) are among the worst he’s ever read, let alone adaptations of his work.
You can imagine, then, the pressure on the team looking to bring it to Netflix. Fortunately, Gaiman is fully involved this time, and while he isn’t running the show as he did with Prime Video’s ‘Good Omens’, he’s had a lot of say in what ends up on screen, including co-writing the first episode with fellow executive producers David Goyer and Allan Heinberg (the latter of whom took the lion’s share of the work).
And, with the longer time permitted by a season of television and the hefty budget/credibility provided by Netflix, it’s a relief to say that the show really works – for the most part, at least.
(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
The focus of the comics’ series (co-created by artists Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg) is the titular Sandman, called Dream, but also known as Morpheus, among other titles. He is one of the seven Endless, a family of anthropomorphic godlike beings. The other Endless are Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium (formerly Delight), and Destruction (also called ‘The Prodigal’).
Adapting the first couple of volumes of the comics, the show kicks off with Dream (played by Tom Sturridge) unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for over a century by magician Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance) through the use of an incantation.
Once Dream is able to finally free himself, he must journey across different worlds and timelines to fix the chaos his absence has caused.
That’s a very basic summary, especially for the sprawling source material, which has generated reams of stories and spin-offs. The show doesn’t try to squeeze everything into these initial 10 episodes, but there is plenty to see, including a trip to Hell, a convention of serial killers, a beautiful visit with one of Death’s siblings and one terrible night for the customers in a diner.
Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
Like the comics before it, the series functions as almost a set of short stories, linked by the overarching characters of Dream, his family and various attendants/creations/humans. There’s an episodic feel to many installments, which means that if you’re not a fan of one, the next is likely to offer something you’ll enjoy instead.
Early on, the story is burdened by the need to set itself up, to introduce the world to newcomers (and not frustrate those who have feverishly consumed the comic across the years) and offer a briefing on Dream’s tough situation.
It helps that you have the likes of Charles Dance in the early going, bringing gravitas and grit to roles that could so easily be cartoonish, and if Sturridge takes a little while to warm up to playing such a tricky character as Dream, he does find his stride.
Dream could be a massive cliché, the sort of whispering goth guy who looks like a young Robert Smith (of The Cure). In Sturridge and the writers/directors’ hands, he’s a complicated, conflicted creation, rocked by his entrapment and thrown off balance by the changes to his dreaming realm upon his return.
Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
His quest to reacquire his magical tools – a bag of sand, a helm that looks like gas mask affixed to a spine and a ruby with terrifying powers – is sometimes the least interesting story, feeling like watching someone play a video game and collect items while battling level bosses, but it’s still filled with enough of Gaiman and co.’s creativity and creatures to make it watchable.
One particularly disappointing aspect is the fourth episode, ‘A Hope in Hell’. Despite boasting ‘Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, it ends up a ridiculous, poorly executed (several big effects shots look like a 1990s TV drama) battle of wills where the outcome is never in doubt.
That, however, is entirely balanced out by the sixth episode, ‘The Sound of Her Wings’, which features one of ‘Sandman’s most iconic and beloved characters, Dream’s older sister Death.
Eschewing the usual cloaked skeleton or otherwise imposing figure, Gaiman instead imagines her as an impish young woman, with a cheery face and a kind word to guide humans from the land of the living to “the sunless lands” once they die. Brought to life on screen by ‘The Good Place’s Kirby Howell-Baptiste, she’s a show highlight, a charming and effusive counterpoint to Dream’s gloomy, wet-eyed meandering.
(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Stephen Fry as Fiddler’s Green / Gilbert in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
Yet even he gets some real moments to shine in that same episode, with the other half of the running time given over to the story of Dream’s encounters with Hob Gadling (Ferdinand Kingsley), whom he first meets in 1389. The subject of a bet between Death and Dream, Hob gets his wish to become immortal and meets Dream every hundred years in the same tavern.
We watch Hob’s fate rise and fall and Kingsley imbues him with real, deep emotion, crafting a character who watches the world change around him, sometimes using that to his advantage, other times suffering for it. It’s a magnificent performance and elevates the show around it.
Other elements to recommend include Matthew the Raven, who aids Dream in his missions. A winning combination of superb digital effects and real birds, Matthew also benefits from a charming voice performance by Patton Oswalt.
David Thewlis, meanwhile, brings pathos and cold sociopathy all at once to John Dee, whose ownership of Dream’s ruby goes very, very wrong. Thewlis is, in fact, like Kingsley, one of the actors whose performance is superior to the source material.
David Thewlis as Dr. John Dee in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
‘The Sandman’ may never please every fan in exactly the way they hope – this is an adaptation, don’t forget – but it’s faithful where needed, spirited and fantastical. It also doesn’t shave away the more brutal ruminations on the darker side of humanity.
Faithful fans have waited many years to see the series realized; this might be as close to correct as it’s possible to get in the visual medium.
‘The Sandman’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.
(L to R) Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death and Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
Few genre projects are as anticipated at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con than Netflix’s series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s ‘The Sandman’.
Sure, there are the gigantic likes of Marvel and DC bringing their own latest comic book-based treats to con audiences, but Gaiman’s sprawling, mystical and magical tale of the Lord of Dreams (and the various people, creatures and realms he encounters) is a truly special one to its fans.
And it’s a story that has long defied attempts at adaptation, especially on the movie front (and partly because Gaiman himself has tried to make sure that if it happened at all, it happens right).
The longer format of serialized television and the budgets/technology afforded by today’s streaming services finally appears to have cracked it, and the show is less than a month away. So Netflix naturally went all out with a Hall H panel featuring cast and creators.
The cast of Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
For those who might be unaware of the comic book (which debuted back in the 1980s), this is the story of another world that waits for all of us when we close our eyes and sleep — a place called the Dreaming, where The Sandman, Master of Dreams (Sturridge), gives shape to all of our deepest fears and fantasies.
But when Dream is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for a century, his absence sets off a series of events that will change both the dreaming and waking worlds forever. To restore order, Dream must journey across different worlds and timelines to mend the mistakes he’s made during his vast existence, revisiting old friends and foes, and meeting new entities — both cosmic and human — along the way.
That feels like a very CliffsNotes summation for something that is gigantic and filled with myths and monsters. Oh, and a talking Raven called Matthew (voiced in the series by Oswalt, a confirmed fan of the comics who read from issue one).
Comic book creator Neil Gaiman from Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
Gaiman talked about how happy he was that the story was finally coming to the screen in the right way, while the cast enthused about getting to play their various characters. There were the usual anecdotes – Tom Sturridge, who plays Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, was cast after hundreds of other actors were auditioned, while Gwendoline Christie plays Lucifer as a “junkie angel”.
Perhaps the biggest news to emerge was that artist Dave McKean – who created so many of the beautiful covers for the comics, but who had effectively retired from work on it – was back for the show. “Every episode has end-title credits, and it’s a different sequence for each episode,” said Gaiman, “this amazing, flowing film that Dave McKean made.”
Clips from a couple of episodes were screened, though as usual those were only for attendees. Netflix was gracious enough to put a new trailer online for everyone to see.
Tom Sturridge from Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
‘The Sandman’ will premiere on Netflix for its first season on August 5th.
Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’(L to R) Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death and Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’David Thewlis as Dr. John Dee in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Stephen Fry as Fiddler’s Green / Gilbert in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’Joely Richardson as Ethel Cripps in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman.’
While Loki, Scarlet Witch and friends get their own TV series on the new Disney streaming service, some lesser-known Marvel superheroes will be getting their own TV show on ABC.
This live-action series, from Marvel Television and ABC Studios, isn’t connected to Marvel Studios or the MCU. Not at this point, anyway. Instead, it’s coming from DC’s “Wonder Woman” writer Allan Heinberg, who is back to write about more women with superpowers.
According to Deadline, the series is meant to focus on relatively obscure female Marvel characters; they speculated that the list could include A-Force, Lady Liberators, and Fearless Defenders.
Deadline reports that ABC has given a production commitment to this new untitled hourlong drama, but we’ll have to stay tuned for more details.
So far, Marvel Television has given ABC “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Agent Carter,” and “Inhumans.” “Jessica Jones” was also developed for ABC at first, before moving to Netflix as part of that “Defenders” series.
