Following the recent release of the first trailer for Netflix's The Sandman, several new character posters have now emerged, giving us a good look at some of the core cast, including Dream, Death and Desire. The series, which is being adapted from seminal author Neil Gaiman's comic book saga of the same name, will be led by Tom Sturridge as Morpheus, also known as Dream, the king of dreams and the ruler of the Dreaming.
The actor makes a hauntingly accurate live action version of the title character, his sharp features and detached stare bringing the character to life perfectly. As teased in the recent trailer, The Sandman begins in 1916, when Dream, the king of stories and one of the seven Endless, is captured in an occult ritual. After being held captive for 105 years, in 2021 he escapes and sets out to restore order to his kingdom of the Dreaming.
The next picture features another member of the Endless, Death, as portrayed by Kirby Howell-Baptiste. Dream's kinder and wiser sister, Death is often at hand to provide her brother with some much-needed perspective whenever he starts brooding, something which he does a lot of.
Finally, we have Mason Alexander Park as Desire, Dream's androgynous sibling, with whom he shares a bitter rivalry. While not shown in a poster (yet), Desire is the twin of Despair, who is due to be played in The Sandman by Donna Preston.
Netflix's The Sandman series will be based on the critically acclaimed comic book series by author Neil Gaiman. The Sandman originally ran for 75 issues from 1989-1996, and follows the main character Dream, also known as Morpheus (among other names), a conceptual entity struggling with his place in the universe. He is one of the seven Endless, with the other Endless being Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, formerly Delight, and Destruction. Various studios have tried to bring the sweeping epic to live action for years, with development on a potential adaptation having been in the works for a ludicrous 25 years. Thankfully, Netflix's attempt has progressed nicely, with filming wrapping back in August.
The series has amassed a stellar cast, including Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) as Lucifer, Ruler of Hell, Vivienne Acheampong (The Witches) as Lucienne, chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream's realm, Boyd Holbrook (Logan) as The Corinthian, an escaped nightmare, Charles Dance (Gosford Park, Game of Thrones) as Roderick Burgess, Charlatan, blackmailer and magician, Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing) as Abel and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Yesterday) as Cain, the first victim and the first predator, residents and loyal subjects of the Dream Realm.
Neil Gaiman is on board as an executive producer and co-writer on the adaptation, and has since revealed that the show "feels like Sandman. I don't know if that means that people who watch TV will like it - although I hope they will - but I suspect that if you like Sandman and you want to see it on the screen, then you'll like this. (I also think Tom Sturridge will be a star after season one of Sandman drops. The Sandman is being produced by Warner Bros. Television., with David S. Goyer on board as an executive producer. The Sandman is expected to hit Netflix later this year.
