The highly-anticipated adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s masterwork The Sandman has been shooting for several months, yet Netflix has kept a tight lid on the cast — until now. The streamer has finally confirmed Collider‘s scoop that Tom Sturridge will play Dream, and he’ll be joined by Boyd Holbrook and Game of Thrones alums Gwendoline Christie and Charles Dance, as well as Vivienne Acheampong, Asim Chaudhry and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
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. Dream is part of a mysterious group of immortal beings known as The Endless, who personify universal concepts such as death, desire, destiny, delirium, despair and destruction.
Collider reported last September that English actor Sturridge had landed the lead role of Dream, the Lord of the Dreaming, and Discussing Film had previously tipped the casting of Christie, who will be playing Lucifer, the Ruler of Hell — who is depicted as male in the comic. At 6’3″, Christie is an imposing presence on any size screen, and I can’t wait to see her gender-flipped take on the character following her intimidating turns as Brienne of Tarth on GoT and Captain Phasma in the Star Wars movies.
Elsewhere, Holbrook will be playing The Corinthian, an escaped nightmare who wishes to taste all that the world has in store, while Dance has been cast as Roderick Burgess, the Charlatan, who is also a blackmailer and magician. Both of these actors seem well-suited for Gaiman‘s dark Sandman universe.
Acheampong will play Lucienne, the chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream’s realm, while Bhaskar and Chaudhry will play Cain and Abel, residents and loyal subjects of the Dream Realm who are often depicted as the world’s first killer and its first victim.
The Sandman is based on Gaiman‘s acclaimed 75-issue comic from DC‘s Vertigo label, and the dark fantasy series is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Gaiman co-wrote the show with David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) and showrunner Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman), and the three of them also serve as executive producers on the 11-episode series
“For the last thirty-three 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, Gaiman said in a statement. “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.”
Gaiman previously explained to Collider how his Audible drama The Sandman, which featured Taron Egerton as John Constantine, liberated him to make changes to this live-action Netflix adaptation, which is a high priority for the streamer given the comic’s popularity. With a little luck, it may even premiere before the end of the year. Just remember that “the price of getting what you want is getting what you once wanted.”
via Collider