Netflix picked up a big-budget adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Sandman a year and a half ago and now the cast of the series has finally been unveiled. Tom Sturridge and Gwendoline Christie are set to headline the highly-anticipated DC Comics effort.
Tom Sturridge will lead as Dream, the Lord of the Dreaming, and Gwendoline Christie joins him as Lucifer, Ruller of Hell. Joining the ensemble of the dark fantasy drama are Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, and Sanjeev Bhaskar. Here is the official logline for the series per Netflix:
"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."
Vivienne Acheampong will play Lucienne, the chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream's realm while Boyd Holbrook takes on the role of The Corinthian, an escaped nightmare who wishes to taste all that the world has in store. Asim Chaudhry and Sanjeeve Bhaskar play the roles of Abel and Cain, the first victim and the first predator, who are the residents and loyal subjects of the Dream realm. Lastly, Charles Dance plays Roderick Burgess, Charlatan, blackmailer, and magician.
Behind the scenes talent on the series includes Gaiman and Allan Heinberg, who are co-writing the adaptation with Heinberg also on board as showrunner. David S. Goyer will executive produce the series from Warner Bros. Television. Neil Gaiman had this to say about the series finally coming together:
"For the last 33 years, the Sandman characters have breathed and walked around and talked in my head. I'm unbelievably happy that now, finally, they get to step out of my head and into reality. I can't wait until the people out there get to see what we've been seeing as Dream and the rest of them take flesh, and the flesh belongs to some of the finest actors out there. This is astonishing, and I'm so grateful to the actors and to all of The Sandman collaborators — Netflix, Warner Bros., DC, to Allan Heinberg and David Goyer, and the legions of crafters and geniuses on the show — for making the wildest of all my dreams into reality."
Netflix acquired Sandman in June of 2019 and gave the series an 11-episode order with a reported massive financial commitment. According to "The Hollywood Reporter", at the time of the deal, the show was the most expensive TV series that DC Entertainment had ever done. An adaptation of Sandman has been in the works for quite some time with a feature film directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt once being a priority. Levitt ultimately stepped down from the project, citing "creative differences."
Are YOU excited about the cast?