The Sandman is based on DC comic books and is being considered one of the biggest series on Netflix. Neil Gaiman’s novel titled “The Sandman” for decades cannot be adapted on the big screen due to his refusal as he was awaiting the perfect timing. In fact in 2014, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gaiman collaborated for a film adaptation but it couldn’t take place due to their disputes. However, when Gaiman was contacted by Netflix which wanted to adapt his novel into a big-budget series with a talented cast, he agreed. And in July, 2019 the streaming service giant announced that they are going ahead with the adaptation of his novel. With showrunners such as Allan Heinberg known for Wonder Woman and David S. Goyer of The Dark Knight fame, the Sandman is being said to be the most expensive TV show DC Entertainment has ever made. The Sandman is an epic which surpasses time and space and takes the audience to fictional domains. It’s full of remarkable personalities from history and popular legends such as Shakespeare, Orpheus etc.
All 10 volumes of the comic are based on the character Dream of the Endless also known as Morpheus, Sandman etc. Depending on who he is meeting, we the audience get to see his name and appearance change and his wrong decisions coming back to haunt him. During a Netflix event, the first look of the show appeared as the teaser showed the character of Roderick Burgess and his occultists doing a ritual to confine death. First season of The Sandman will comprise of eleven episodes and will depict volumes such as “Preludes and Nocturnes”, “The Doll’s House” etc. In an interview Gaiman said “You watch episode 1 and think ‘oh I get this thing: it’s like “Downton Abbey,” but with magic”‘, further stating “then you’ll be wondering, ‘What the hell is this?’ by Episode 2, when you’re meeting Gregory the Gargoyle. The characters of The Sandman are anthropomorphic embodiment of things in life such as Death, Desire, Destiny, Despair etc. Dream’s character is portrayed by Tom Sturridge, Death by Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Despair by Donna Preston. The Sandman started the production in October, 2020 and Netflix has implied it will be released in April or May this year.