My first date with my then-girlfriend-now-wife was to a comic book shop called Fortress of Solitude (How romantic, right?). I took her there because she had told me that she was deeply into Neil Gaiman and his Sandman series, which I had never heard of at the time. Once at the shop, I bought her one of the graphic novels—It was The Doll’s House, in case you were wondering—and she accepted it to be polite. But, she already owned it. In fact, she owned the whole series. So, I read it myself, and I was hooked! When news broke that Netflix settled upon a deal to make a TV series of The Sandman, both my wife and I jumped for joy.
That’s because its transition to live-action has been less than dreamy, so to speak. There was hope when Joseph Gordon-Levitt got involved with the project and wanted to make a movie adaption that he would even star in. But when those plans fell through, depressed fans just had to sleep off (Sorry!) their depression. Besides, Neil himself wanted an English actor to play Morpheus. And, he's gotten his wish, since we now know who will play Sandman in the new Netflix series. I have seven other quick things that I know, as well, that I’ll be happy to share with you. So, get ready and I’ll take you there. You are getting sleepy. Sleeeeeepy...
Tom Sturridge Will Be Playing Morpheus
English actor Tom Sturridge is set to play the lord over all dreams and stories. You may have seen him in Pirate Radio as Carl or as Sergeant Francis Troy in Far from the Madding Crowd. Or, if you’re the romantic type, then Falling for Forever as Will Donner.
Dream, on the page, is a mostly stoic figure who kind of looks like the lead singer of The Cure. He is one of the seven Endless (more on them later), and existed before even the gods. Morpheus even worked with Cain and Abel and had them living side-by-side in the House of Secrets and the House of Mystery. So, yes, Dream is definitely a more cerebral character. He’s not Superman or anything like that. I’m looking forward to seeing what Tom Sturridge can do with the part.
The Show Will Star Two Game Of Thrones Alums
If you’re still sad because Game of Thrones is over, I have good news! Two of its former castmates will be together again in Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) and Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister).
Gwendoline Christie is set to play Lucifer, the Ruler of Hell (This arc in Vol. 4, Season of Mists was actually one of my favorites in the entire comic series!), and Charles Dance will play Roderick Burgess, a blackmailer and magician. Trust me on this one: Charles Dance is PERFECT for this role. With just the casting alone, this series is already shaping up pretty well!
One Of The Antagonists Will Be An Escaped Nightmare Played By Boyd Holbrook
Logan and We Can Be Heroes actor Boyd Holbrook is set to take on the role of The Corinthian, an escaped nightmare that likes to get himself into trouble.
The Corinthian is one of the reasons I got so deeply into The Sandman, becausehe’s introduced in The Doll’s House. His most notable feature is having teeth for eyes. While I won’t spoil what he does in the story, just know that he is a formidable character, indeed. In The Sandman universe, anyway. Don’t expect to be unaffected by this character.
The Show Will Be A Mix Of “Modern Myth” And “Dark Fantasy”
What really drew me to The Sandman series was that it was like nothing I had ever read before in comic form. It’s not about action, nor is it more based in reality like American Splendor or Persepolis. Like its namesake, it’s a lot more like a dream, as it weaves in and out of reality and the subconscious. There’s a reason why this series has taken so long to be adapted.
While the story does follow The Endless (Again, I’ll get to them!), there are bits where it’s just little short stories that don’t really seem entirely connected, but are in the grand scheme of things. How Morpheus will sift in-between these stories is what really interests me, as it presents the kind of show that we’ve never really seen before on TV. It will be amazing if they can pull it off.
As Of Now, We’re Not Sure If Other Members Of The Endless Will Be On The Show
Okay, so now for the Endless. My favorite part of the whole comic series is the seven Endless, which are the embodiments of powerful…I guess ideas? They’re siblings, and they consist of Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium…which later becomes something else, but again, I don’t want to spoil anything.
As of right now, the cast does not include any of the other Endless. But…looking at some of the other cast members, including the characters Roderick Burgess and Cain and Abel (who are going to be played by Sanjeev Bhaskar and Asim Chaudhry, respectively) I am going to assume that Death somehow plays a part in all of this. Whether she will just be mentioned or will actually be featured is up for speculation, but it’s Death we’re talking about here. It would really be a shame if she’s not in this series.
The Show Is Going To Be Pretty Expensive
The Sandman is rumored to be the most expensive DC show ever. This is not surprising, as this is Netflix, which has a tendency to dump a lot of money into a project.
But honestly, if any series needs it, it’s The Sandman. One thing that really sticks out in the comic is the art style and the representation of dreams and other concepts. Hell is definitely going to be featured on this show, and that segment of the comic was extremely detailed and wonderful. I can only imagine how cool it’s going to look on my television screen.
Neil Gaiman Is Looking Forward To The Netflix Show
Possibly the best news of all, though, is that Neil Gaiman himself is excited for this project. This might not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. Even though Gaiman isn’t exactly like Alan Moore (who scorns anybody touching his properties), Gaiman does want his stories to be in the right hands, and apparently, Netflix has the right hands for this project. In an interview with RadioTimes, Neil Gaiman had this to say:
I’ve read lots of scripts that ranged from the appalling to ‘OK, they might be able to pull this off’. But you always read them going, ‘Well, it’s not quite Sandman. It’s taking some Sandman stuff from over here, and taking some Sandman stuff over there, and blending it together.
But, apparently, this time is different. And, If Neil Gaiman is enthused, then I think the fans can be enthused as well.
So those are seven quick things you might not have known about the Netflix Sandman series. What do you think? Are you excited for this new show? Sound off in the comments section or in the poll below.
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