Netflix Unveils ‘The Sandman’ Series First Look
Long regarded as one of the greatest comics series in history, The Sandman is finally getting a long-awaited — and long-attempted — adaptation when Netflix brings it to television in a brand new series. For decades since it debuted in the late 1980s, people have been trying to adapt Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, primarily as movie. Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary worked on a version for a few years and about a decade ago David S. Goyer was involved in a totally different project based on the series, which would have starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the title character. That never happened either. Supposedly, some of these Sandman movie projects were so dire they turned Gaiman off from working on anything at DC Comics involving its characters for years.
The Sandman finally came together as a TV series, which was probably always a better fit for the material anyway. The original comic book ran for 75 series through the mid-’90s and has been revived by Gaiman a few times in various graphic novels and spinoffs. Netflix’s Sandman was developed by Allan Heinberg, a TV veteran (he worked on Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, and Scandal, among many others) who is also a comic book writer. (He’s the co-creator of Young Avengers, an excellent book that looks like it could be adapted to the MCU in the years ahead.) The show stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, with Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death. The first teaser for the show is here — watch it below:
The series’ official Instagram account launched with the show’s official logo, which comes straight from the Gaiman comic book:
Here is the show’s official synopsis:
A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, The Sandman follows the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic — and human — mistakes he's made during his vast existence.
The Sandman premieres soon on Netflix.