In collaboration with comic series creator Neil Gaiman, Netflix is finally bringing a live-action adaptation of The Sandman to the world. Announced in 2019, The Sandman has had years to build anticipation in fans of the comics and pique interest in newcomers as nuggets of information related to casting, the scope of this season, and how closely it stays to the comics have been released.
Fans of Gaiman’s The Sandman have been waiting a long time for an adaptation that does the series justice. Gaiman himself has been known to stop “bad versions” from being made, telling Total Film that he’s been terrified of Sandman following the legacy of the 1986 film adaptation of Howard the Duck and thus determined not to let any adaptation of his own work ruin the world he and his fans love so much. Even though the audiobook adaptation of The Sandman, available on Amazon’s audiobook and podcast service Audible, has done well and helped tide fans over with its cast of notable names such as Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, James McAvoy, Andy Serkis, and Neil Gaiman himself, people are still eager to see this story brought to the screen.
In Netflix, Gaiman seems to have finally found the perfect home for Sandman. In a Den of Geek interview with showrunner Allan Heinberg he says “… Neil allowed us not only to imagine what happens between panels or off-page, but he was contributing, from the very beginning, just pitching, ‘What if? What if? What if?’ There was never a defensive pose with Neil in any way,” showing that while Neil was heavily involved in the creative process, he didn’t totally dominate the writer’s room. He was open to Heinberg and David S. Goyer’s ideas for adapting The Sandman, even if they differed from exactly how the story plays out in the comics.
When and Where Will The Sandman Be Available to Watch?
Announced at Netflix’s Geeked Week panel in June, The Sandman is set to premiere on Netflix Aug. 5th, 2022. Following the streaming service’s typical all-at-once release model, this means that all episodes of the series should be available to watch at 12 a.m. PT/ 3 a.m. ET on that date for Netflix subscribers.
How Many Episodes Will The Sandman Have?
The Sandman will have 10 episodes, each set to tell a different story in the Sandman universe while still connecting to an overarching narrative. If the series follows Netflix’s usual structure for dramas, then each episode will likely be about an hour in length.
What is the Plot of The Sandman?
The Sandman comics primarily follow the God-like titular character who is known by many other names such as Morpheus, Dream, Oneiros, the Shaper, Kai’ckul, and the Cat of Dreams just to name a few. He is one of the seven Endless, who are personifications of various metaphysical ideas such as Destiny, Death, Desire, and Despair. The series begins with Morhpeus being captured and imprisoned by an occultist group. 70 years later, he escapes and finds himself in the modern world. Not only does he have to rebuild his kingdom, which has fallen into disrepair in his absence, but he also has to reconcile with how his imprisonment changed his outlook on the world.
Netflix’s official synopsis for The Sandman states that the series is “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”.