After being teased for the last two years, the fantastical television adaptation of The Sandman is finally underway!
The series will be produced by Netflix and written by the comic book’s original creator, Neil Gaiman.
Who is in the cast of The Sandman?
The Sandman requires an eclectic cast as the story includes many out-of-the-box characters, ranging from classic mythology to horrific beasts and characters.
English performer Tom Sturridge will lead the show as one of the most powerful beings in the series, Dream. While oftentimes heroic, the character tends to be egotistical and slightly offensive.
Previously Sturridge was cast alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the Broadway production of Sea Wall/A Life which was later turned into a podcast for Audible. He has also been in the movies Effie Gray, Mary Shelley, and Velvet Buzzsaw.
Also joining the cast of The Sandman is Gwendoline Christie who was previously seen portraying the fearless Brienne of Tarth in the HBO series Game of Thrones. In this new dark series, she will be portraying Lucifer, the Ruler of Hell.
The announcement of Christie’s role in the show was a fun twist for fans as Lucifer is typically portrayed as a man.
The main cast also features Vivienne Acheampong (The Witches, Famalam), Boyd Holbrook (Logan, Gone Girl), and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones).
What is The Sandman?
The Sandman series will be based on the comic book series of the same name written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC comics.
The still-present series originally started in 1988 and ran for seven years, but has since spurred multiple spin-offs and other adaptations.
The IMDb description for the show is:
Upon escaping after decades of imprisonment by a mortal wizard, Dream, the personification of dreams, sets about to reclaim his lost equipment.
IMDb
When will The Sandman Be Released?
Netflix’s The Sandman has begun filming but has not announced their wrap. As stated on IMDb, the show is expected to be released later this year with 11 episodes, given there are no unprecedented Covid-19 related delays.
In this interview, Gaiman also shared to Digital Spy that the original series has been updated to fit modern times. Rather than taking place in 1989, it will take place in 2021.
He was quoted saying, “The Netflix version is going to begin in 2021, so Morpheus will have been kept prisoner in the Netflix version for 105 years rather than 70 years.”
The Sandman is expected to arrive on Netflix in 2021.