Neil Gaiman’s epic comic-book fantasy The Sandman is one of those projects that’s long been thought unfilmable, thanks to its epic scope, mythical qualities, and downright weirdness – but in a world where all major sci-fi and fantasy IPs have the potential to become massive crossover hits, Netflix has stumped up the cash to bring the saga to the screen. It’s going to be a massive undertaking, and shooting on the series has officially started – which means it’s time to finally meet some members of the sprawling cast. The streaming service has unveiled the first names attached to the project – take a look here.
First up, Tom Sturridge has been cast in the lead role of Dream, with Gaiman saying he’s “perfect for the role”.
He’ll be joined by Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, with Sanjeev Bhaskar and Asim Chaudhry playing Cain and Abel respectively. Oh, and in a perfect piece of casting, none other than Gwendoline Christie will be playing Lucifer, Ruler Of Hell.
According to Gaiman, this is only the beginning – with “hundreds to go” in terms of announcing the rest of the cast. The show is set to be a straight-up adaptation of Gaiman’s comics, which were published between 1989 and 1996 – though the show will be updated to take place in the present-day of 2021, rather than in 1989. The series will be executive produced by Gaiman himself, as well as David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg, the latter of whom is the main developer of the show at Netflix.
With the show shooting now, there’s a chance we could see something by the end of 2021, or perhaps more likely in 2022. In the meantime, Audible is currently adapting the comics in a massive multi-part audiobook production, with an epic cast including James McAvoy as Dream, Taron Egerton as John Constantine, Michael Sheen as Lucifer, and many more besides, adapted and directed by Dirk Maggs.