The Sandman, the ambitious, much anticipated new Netflix series based on Neil Gaiman’s iconic work of fantasy is waking up.
We’ve known that it was in the works for nearly two years now, but for much of that time, we’ve heard very little about it. It’s like it’s been sleeping, off on its own little adventures through Dream’s kingdom, while all we fans could do is wait, perhaps a little impatiently, and always with the sort of excitement that comes about when a book loved by generations of fans goes before the cameras for the first time. Every now and then, the slumbering series would stir, and we’d get a hint of what was in store. Earlier this year, The Sandman awoke, briefly, and told us a few things that it had dreamt during the night. We learned that Velvet Buzzsaw’s Tom Sturridge would be playing Dream—aka Morpheus, the character at the heart of the saga. We discovered that The Sandman’s Lucifer will be played by none other than Gwendoline Christie (who we imagine will find Hell to be far less stressful then Westeros). But there was still so much we didn’t know and eventually, The Sandman seemed to return to its hibernation, silent once again.
But suddenly, the magnificent creature is stirring again, and while we can’t know for sure, it sure feels like The Sandman may be about to wake for good. It started Monday, when Netflix teased The Sandman as part of its upcoming “Geeked Week.” But things really got going this morning, when none other than Neil Gaiman himself introduced us to more of The Sandman’s core cast. Our last casting announcement left off a few key roles—Death, Desire, Despair, Rose Walker, John Dee and Matthew the Raven, to name a few. Now, all those characters and more are in place, and we’ve started to get a sense of just what we might be in for when The Sandman hits the screen for the very first time.
You should by all means read Gaiman’s full blog post about the new cast. He shares what the experience seeing The Sandman brought to film has been like after wrapping the original Vertigo series 25 years ago.
There’s a lot to absorb there, and we’ll leave most of the discussion and speculation to you, the fans. But this second casting update suggests a few things—largely by which characters are missing. With key roles like William Shakespeare and the Siamese Cat missing, it’s likely that the first season of The Sandman will just take us through the first two volumes of Gaiman’s saga. In addition, two important roles from “Preludes and Nocturnes,” the first Sandman volume, are also missing—John Constantine and the Martian Manhunter.
While we don’t know what to expect from Netflix’s adaptation (consider this your regular reminder that we here at DCComics.com don’t know any more than you do when it comes to DC movies, games and TV), we wouldn’t be surprised if Martian Manhunter or any other DC superhero just aren’t a part of it. They’re really not the point of Sandman and their involvement would complicate things behind the scenes. (Though we could be wrong. We’ll see!) The same likely goes for John Constantine, but we have to wonder if Gaiman’s description of Johanna Constantine—and his mention of using her in the present day—suggests that she might fill the role that her great-great-great grandson played in the original comics. Either way, more Jenna Coleman is never a bad thing!
What do you think of the casting announcements so far?
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