The first season of Netflix’s Sandman series is still filming as of July 2021. Here’s the latest news about the Sandman series, including all the current casting rumors, where the series is in production and when we can expect it to grace our Netflix subscriptions.
In July 2019, Deadline reported that Netflix and Warner Bros. TV held talks to discuss the future of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. Shortly thereafter, it was confirmed that Netflix had successfully picked up the series, bringing the series out of the limbo it had been in for more than a decade.
The adaptation will be handled by Allan Heinberg, who previously worked on “Wonder Woman” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and he will be both writer and showrunner for “The Sandman.” “Sandman” creator Neil Gaiman will serve as executive producer along with David S. Goyer.
When will the first season of “Sandman” be released on Netflix?
In an interview with Digital Spy, Neil Gaiman confirmed that the series will appear in 2021. Given the delays in production (see below), we are currently expecting the second half of 2021.
What is The Sandman?
The Sandman is an American comic book series created by Neil Gaiman. It is one of the few comics to become a New York Times bestseller. The Sandman series was the flagship series for Vertigo comics. Neil Gaiman is known for his take on mythology and his use of anthropomorphic personification of metaphysical entities. Among Gaiman’s most recent and popular works are such films as “American Gods” on Starz, “Good Omens” on Amazon Prime and “Lucifer” on Netflix.
The story of “The Sandman” revolves around the character of Dream, one of the Seven Infinites. Dream, like the other Infinites, is billions of years old, and each represents the embodiment of a natural force. Drim, also known as Morpheus and a bunch of other names and titles acquired over billions of years, is the anthropomorphic personification of dreams. Morpheus dwells in his realm of “Dreaming,” where he has complete and undivided dominion, but struggles to adapt to change (a common theme repeated throughout the series).
At the beginning of the story, Morpheus is summoned through an occult ritual, but he is captured and held captive for 70 years. Eventually escaping, Morpheus avenges his captors and returns to his realm. During Morpheus’ absence, his kingdom has fallen into disrepair, and he sets about rebuilding it. While in captivity, Morpheus had time to reflect on his past, but the task of correcting past sins will prove impossible for a man who is billions of years old and stiff in his ways.
Who is in the cast of the film The Sandman?
The Sandman / Morpheus / Dream – Tom Sturridge
Before the official announcement, we learned from Daniel Richtman and his Patreon that Tom Sturridge will play the role of Dream, aka the Sandman.
“The titular Sandman. Lord of Dreams and keeper of the realm of Dreams. Late ’20s and early ’30s. Ghostly, skinny. Since dreams are the source of inspiration for all life and creativity, Morpheus considers their management a serious responsibility. He is a noble, principled being, but he can be a bit obsessive about his responsibilities and ruthless when he is displeased. The obsession of the Dream can rob him of his connection to humanity, as he considers humans to be mere dream engines. An arrogant god who eventually realizes that he must change or die.”
Corinthian – Boyd Holbrook
“Supernaturally beautiful, ‘Corinthian’ radiates style, sex, wit, and predatory wrongness. A nightmare embodied but impossible to take your eyes off of. It embodies humanity’s darkest, most sadistic, murderous impulses when they are not tempered by compassion, empathy and love.
Originally created by Dream, Corinthian is determined to thwart his creator at every turn.”
Roderick Burgess – Charles Dance
“Roderick Burgess is a self-proclaimed sorcerer and prophet. He is the founder of the Order of Ancient Mysteries, which promises self-realization through the occult–for a price. In reality, there is nothing magical about Roderick. He’s a con man – but energetic and very charismatic. A narcissist, he enjoys dating much younger women and amassing wealth and treasure. Aggrieved by the untimely loss of his eldest son, Roderick treats his youngest son, Alex, with cruelty and disdain.”
Lucifer – Gwendolyn Christie
In January 2021, DiscussingFilm reported that Gwendolyn Christie (known for her roles in Game of Thrones and Star Wars) was casting, but it wasn’t clear which role, though they speculated that it could be either Desire or Death. Gwendolyn also recently worked with Neil Gaiman on the novel Sleeper and Spindle for BBC Radio 4.
Lucien – Vivien Acheampong
Vivien Acheampong will play the role of Lucien, the head librarian of Driming and resident of Castle Drim. Lucien’s job is to take care of Drim’s huge library, overseeing the collection of every book ever invented, whether or not they have been published.
Cain – Sanjeev Bhaskar
A sinner and emissary of Dream in hell, Cain is the brother of Abel. A neighbor of Dream, Cain lives in his house in the House of Mysteries. Cain loves his brother, despite his obsessive and compulsive desire to kill Abel.
Abel – Asim Chaudhry
Cain’s brother, Abel has to put up with his brother’s antics on a regular basis, especially when he is killed. Immortal like his brother, Abel is able to be reborn and recover from death, and he has a vain hope that he and his brother can have a more harmonious relationship.
Actress Nina Wadia has also been confirmed for the role of Mother Destiny, Stephen Brand will portray Marsh Janowski, and actresses Emma Duncan and Stacy Abalogun will play the roles of Bette Munroe and Nurse Edmund, respectively.
Twelve exciting new actors have been confirmed for “The Sandman”!
Here’s the full list of new cast members for “The Sandman.”
- Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death.
- Mason Alexander Park as Desire
- Donna Preston as Desperation
- Razaneh Jammal as Lita Hall
- Joely Richardson as Ethel Cripps
- Niamh Walsh as young Ethel Cripps
- David Tevlis as John D.
- Kio Ra as Rose Walker
- Patton Oswalt as Matthew Crow
- Stephen Fry as Gilbert.
- Jenna Coleman as Joanna Constantine
- Sandra James Young as Unity Kincaid
The casting of Jenna Coleman as Joanna Constantine could be another gender-altering role for the series after Gwendoline Christie and Vivienne Acheampong, respectively. The character of Joanna Constantine appears in The Sandman comics and is the ancestor of John Constantine, the famous DC Comics occult detective. It is not known if Coleman will play the role of John’s ancestor or if it will be a gender-altered character.
How much “Sandman” will be featured in the first season?
Neil Gaiman himself has promised fans that the adaptation of “The Sandman” will be faithful to the comics.
Preludes and Nocturnes is the first volume of “The Sandman,” which covers issues #1-8. Since the first season will cover the first volume and part of the second (“Dollhouse”), there is a lot to see.
However, at the DC Fandome event, Neil Gaiman confirmed that the Netflix series will not start the story in the 1980s, but will begin in the present day.
There are a total of ten volumes (75 issues) in “The Sandman,” which means Netflix may release at least four seasons.
Could Lucifer make an appearance?
It has been confirmed that Lucifer will play the lead role in the Sandman series. Fans of the “Lucifer” series will be disappointed to learn that Tom Ellis will not return to the role of the Devil, but the appointment of Gwendoline Christie offers us a whole new and intriguing look at the character.
Lucifer appeared in “Prelude Nocturne” (issues #1-8 of “The Sandman”). He also appeared later in “The Sandman” in issues #57-69 of “The Kindly Ones.”
What about other DC characters?
Throughout “The Sandman,” other popular DC characters have appeared in episodic roles. Batman is by far the most famous character to have had a cameo, followed by Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter. It is very doubtful that any of these characters will appear in the film.
Lesser known characters such as Black Spider, Doctor Occult and Mr. Wonder may appear if Warner Brothers allows it.
Was Lucifer canceled because of the Sandman?
A small part of the Lucifer fandom believes that Lucifer was canceled in favor of the Sandman. Neil Gaiman responded to a question from a fan on Twitter:
What is the production status of “The Sandman”?
Current production status: Filming began Oct. 15 (last updated: 10/19/2020)
The series was originally scheduled to begin filming in late May 2020, but as you can imagine, that didn’t happen.
In an interview, Neil Gaiman said:
“We’re working with Netflix, we were supposed to start shooting at the end of May.
Given this COVID world, everything is on pause.”
In his Tumblr blog back in April 2020, Gaiman said the following:
“It’s going really well, except right now it’s kind of in hibernation until people start making TV again. The scripts for the first season have been written, casting has begun, directors have been hired, sets are being built. Everything was ready to go into production, and then we went on pause. As soon as the world is ready to make a television drama, “The Sandman” will smoothly return to production. In the meantime, we’re taking the opportunity to refine the scripts as best we can.”
On September 27, 2020, Neil Gaiman announced when production of the series will begin, saying the series “will begin filming in 3 weeks,” which will be around mid-October 2020.
It was then confirmed that filming would begin on October 19, 2020.
During the Netflix Geeked week event, we got our first look at the production of the Sandman series as well as a behind-the-scenes video with Sandman creator Neil Gaiman.
In July 2021, Peter Kelly, who serves as producer and location manager, announced that his team (which he calls the location department) had completed production.
How many episodes will be in season 1 of the Sandman series?
Neil Gaiman himself has confirmed the number of episodes that the first season will consist of – 11 episodes.
Who is the director of the episodes of “The Sandman”?
Through some investigation, we found out the list of directors for the first season of “The Sandman” and what episodes they are directing. The first two, Mike Barker and Jamie Childs, have been announced by Netflix itself. Barker is best known for his extensive work in television on such award-winning projects as “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Fargo,” “Outlander” and others. Then there are two directors we learned about on our own. They are Andres Bais and Louise Hooper. Bais is known for directing a huge number of episodes for Netflix’s hit series “Narcos” and “Narcos: Mexico,” while Hooper will direct her debut episodes in the second season of “The Witcher” in December 2021.
Below is a breakdown of who is filming what episodes in “The Sandman, Season 1.”
- Mike Barker: episode 1.
- Jamie Childs: episodes 2, 3, 4, 5
- Andres Bise: episodes 6, 7, 8, 9
- Louise Hooper: episodes 10, 11
Other news about The Sandman, related to Netflix or otherwise
The audiobook was released in July 2020 to rave reviews.
In September 2020, Netflix launched the official series page on Netflix, which doesn’t reveal much information, but allows you to set a reminder of when the series will be released.
A second season of the audiobook based on “The Sandman” has been announced for July 2021, and is expected to be released in September.
Are you looking forward to the release of “The Sandman” on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
