Movie and TV adaptations of popular books always bring a number of comparisons from fans, both good and bad. Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is no exception, and while many initial criticisms centered around casting, be it related to gender, race or orientation, there have been others who have questioned some changes made to the original graphic novels. However, just as some changes were made to Netflix’s spectacular adaptation of Gaiman’s work, there are other scenes that are taken directly from the source material as shown in a new comparison video.
The short video focuses on a scene from Episode Six of the series, entitled “The Sound of Her Wings” and puts footage from the show alongside panels from the original comic to show just how comic-accurate much of the dialogue and director is. In the comparison, it is clear to see that the exchange between Tom Sturridge’s Dream and Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s Death is an almost word for word adaptation of the source material. You can check out the video below to see for yourself.
Naturally having Gaiman on board the TV series was certainly the best way to make sure any adaptation of his much-loved stories stay on the right track, and it seems that despite the occasional troll comments, which Gaiman has admitted he cannot always ignore, The Sandman is a huge hit for Netflix and has been certified fresh by both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Sandman Has Spin-Off Potential
Like many IPs, The Sandman could end up being much more than a straight adaptation of the comic books, and could easily see a number of spin-offs put into production at Netflix if the audience demand to see certain characters developed further is high enough. Although The Sandman is littered with intriguing and currently unexplored characters, one that Neil Gaiman would love to see get her own series is Jenna Coleman’s Johanna Constantine. Gaiman previously said:
"Anybody who has seen Sandman Episode 3 has sidled over to us at some point or other in the last six months and said, 'Do you think there's any possibility that we could do a Johanna Constantine show with Jenna Coleman?' And, oh my God, she's a star and you just want to see her going through battling demons and destroying other people's lives. So that's in there, too. We can keep going on this for a long time to come."
Of course, for fans of DC Comics, Johanna is an altered version of the popular John Constantine, a character that has been part of a number of DC hero groups and has previously been played on screen by Keanu Reeves in the 2005 movie, and by Matt Ryan in a short-lived TV series and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Coleman’s new version of Constantine could well get her own spin-off show in which she would take on demons intent on causing chaos in the world.
Others who could potentially get their own spin-off series include Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s Death or Gwendoline Christie’s Lucifer Morningstar, but for now, it is likely Gaiman is looking forward to a second season of The Sandman before considering possible side-stories to expand the universe. With a reported $30 million per episode budget, The Sandman is a costly production, and it will have to prove itself to Netflix as being worth the expense before they delve too deep into the franchise.
The Sandman season 1 is available now on Netflix.