A new behind-the-scenes video from the upcoming Netflix series The Sandman has been released. The adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s classic DC comic book is currently in production.
The video focuses on Gaiman himself, who takes the viewer on a brief tour of the show’s lavish sets and gives us a tantalising glimpse of this hugely anticipated series. Gaiman describes being on set as “walking around your own dream,” and says the show is “being made for people who love Sandman by people who love Sandman.” There are also very brief interviews with stars Tom Sturridge and Gwendoline Christie, who play Dream and Lucifer and talk about what huge fans of the comic they are. Check the video out below:
The Sandman has a hugely supporting impressive cast. The first actors were revealed in January, and they included Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, Asim Chaundhry as Abel, and Sanjeev Bhaskar as Cain.
Last month, it was announced that they will be joined by Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, and Donna Preston as Despair, plus Jenna Coleman, Joely Richardson, Niamh Walsh, David Thewlis, Stephen Fry, and Patton Oswalt. The show doesn’t have a release date yet.
The Sandman comic first debuted in 1988, written by Gaiman and art by Sam Keith (issues 1-5) and Mike Dringenberg. The series follows Dream–who is also called The Sandman, Morpheus, Lord of Dreaming, The Shaper, etc–who has been a prisoner for 70 years and must rebuild his kingdom, which has collapsed in his absence.
The series ran until 1996, spanning 76 issues. There have also been numerous spin-offs, including the 2013 limited series The Sandman: Overture. The Sandman series helped pave the way for Vertigo Comics, a DC imprint for darker, more adult comics series.
The Sandman adaptation has been a long time coming. There was a previous attempt made in 2016, when Dark Knight Rises star Joseph Gordon-Levitt was on board to star and produce a movie version, but that collapsed when Gordon-Levitt walked away, stating that he and studio executives couldn’t “see eye-to-eye on what makes Sandman special.”