Genius author Neil Gaiman teased the upcoming Netflix’s live-action adaptation of his hit graphic novel The Sandman. The Sandman is executive produced by Gaiman, Allan Heinberg, and David S. Goyer with Heinberg also serving as the showrunner on the first season of the series. Season 1 of The Sandman will reportedly adapt volume 1 of the comic series titled Preludes & Nocturnes, which follows the capture of Dream in the early 1900s and his 105-year captivity under Burgess and his followers. Dream is finally able to escape in the year 2021 while being watched by Burgess and Alex (Burgess’ son).
While there were many attempts made to adapt The Sandman including a film which was to star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this Netflix adaptation will finally give Gaiman’s classic graphic novel the onscreen presence it deserves. Gaiman is involved in the development of the series himself to ensure that Netflix gets the series right, and now it seems like Gaiman’s involvement will pay off and give the fans a great series.
During a recent interview with Empire, Gaiman gave the fans some hints about what they can expect from the Netflix series. Gaiman explained that the fans will have a hard time deciding which genre the series fits into. Read the full quote by Gaiman below:
“You watch Episode 1 and think, ‘Oh, I get this thing: it’s like Downton Abbey, but with magic.’ Then you’ll be wondering, ‘What the hell is this?’ by Episode 2, when you’re meeting Gregory The Gargoyle in The Dreaming. Episode 5 is about as dark and traumatic as anything is ever gonna get, then you’ve got Episode 6, which is probably the most feel-good of all the episodes.”
Gaiman further stated that the series has many differences and he also explained by giving an example of Game of Throne, in which he said “if you didn’t like an episode of Game Of Thrones, you probably won’t like any other episode of Game Of Thrones.” But The Sandman is “all about surprising you. It’s all about reinventing itself. It’s all about taking you on a journey you’ve not been on before.” This approach to making a Sandman series is creative if not risky, but we will all have to wait and see if the risk pays off.
The Netflix series stars Tom Sturridge (On The Road) as Dream aka The Sandman, Boyd Holbrook will be playing the role of The Corinthian, Charles Dance is Roderick Burgess, Gwendoline Christie is Lucifer, Vivienne Acheampong is Lucien, Sanjeev Bhaskar is Cain, Asim Chaudhry is Abel, Kirby Howell-Baptiste is Death, Mason Alexander Park is Desire, Donna Preston is Despair, Razane Jammal is Lyta Hall, Joely Richardson is Ethel Cripps, Niamh Walsh is Young Ethel Cripps, David Thewlis is John Dee, Kyo Ra is Rose Walker, Patton Oswalt is the voice of Matthew the Raven, Stephen Fry is Gilbert, Jenna Coleman is Johanna Constantine, and Sandra James Young will be playing Unity Kincaid.