This is Sandman being made for people who love Sandman, by people who love Sandman
A TV ADAPTATION OF NEIL GAIMAN’S DC COMIC THE SANDMAN IS COMING TO NETFLIX, STARRING TOM STURRIDGE AS DREAM. THE PAIR TELL RACHAEL DAVIS MORE
A STAR-STUDDED cast is set to bring Neil Gaiman’s iconic graphic novel The Sandman to the small screen.
It includes Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Gone Girl’s Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian and the likes of Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Jenna Coleman, David Thewlis and Stephen Fry.
In the new Netflix adaptation of Neil’s critically acclaimed DC comic of the same name, which ran for 75 issues between 1989 and 1996, The Boat That Rocked star Tom Sturridge plays Morpheus – the king of dreams and ruler of the Dreaming, across 10 episodes of epic adventures blending myth and fantasy.
The Sandman follows Morpheus as he’s captured by an occult group in 1916 and imprisoned for decades before escaping and rebuilding his dream kingdom.
Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill has been cast as the voice of wisecracking character and fan-favourite Merv Pumpkinhead.
So, what has it been like for Neil, 61, adapting the beloved comic series for the small screen, and how has 36-year-old Tom found stepping into the role?
Neil, as the creator of this world, why was now the time to adapt The Sandman?
Neil: For well over 30 years, my part in Sandman adaptations was just to try and stop bad ones from happening. And fortunately, I was always successful in this.
We got to 2020 and Sandman was the biggest DC comics property that still had not been adapted – it was widely considered one of the jewels in the crown, it was the adult comic that changed everything.
This adaptation is the first time that I’ve been willing to come on board.
We’ve reached a point that really did not exist when the Sandman comics began. Longer format, novelistic television series now have the special effects and budgets to bring this world to life.
Technologically, I really think we’re in a place right now where we’re getting to make Sandman in a way that we could not have dreamed of making even 15 years ago, even 10 years ago.
This is Sandman being made for people who love Sandman, by people who love Sandman, and that is so incredible for me.
It’s been so special. I feel like I’m on the cusp and I cannot wait until people see this show.
Tom, how did you feel about the role of Dream?
The honest truth is I had no experience of the comics. I was aware of their cultural impact, but I hadn’t read them.
The first thing I did was get a hold of one and have a look at it, and then I started to dive into the story.
Beyond auditioning for the character, I just fell in love with Sandman as a piece of literature.
What became terrifying about the audition was not so much trying to become him but being so excited to potentially be a part of this world.
Now I’m an obsessive Sandman fan. I feel I may have read it all the way from start to finish several times now, and I feel like I know it intimately.
What was the audition process like?
Tom: It was extraordinarily long. It began, I think, in February 2020. I did two or three auditions. I then had to get on a plane and do a screen test, and then the world changed, which obviously had an impact on everyone in a far more important way than our casting process.
But it did mean that I had more time to become more and more familiar with the literature, and I don’t think I would have the understanding I have of Dream now had I not been allowed to spend so much time with him before we began filming.
The conclusion of the process was what I could only describe as a Sandman Oxford interview.
It was me on a Zoom call with 12 different people all asking questions that one is never asked in an audition process as an actor – quite a deep, philosophical interrogation into my position on the character and the story and the ambition for the series.
After this quite haunting and terrifying hour and a half of my life, I got a phone call from [showrunner, writer and executive producer] Allan Heinberg. And it was an astonishing moment.
What did you do after you got the role? I suppose, as we were in lockdown, you couldn’t go out and celebrate?
Tom: I didn’t go out and celebrate. Do you honestly want to know what I did?
I thought very carefully about how I was going to dream that night, because I wanted to find Morpheus, and I wanted to see if
I could meet him in my dreams.
What are you most excited for people to experience in this TV adaptation?
Neil: We know we have a huge fandom out there. For me personally, seeing this all come to life has been moving and often even overwhelming. And I think for the fans, seeing this thing take flesh, seeing this thing start to fly, hearing it, tasting it – it’s going to mean a lot. There are thousands upon thousands of people out there with Sandman tattoos that they put on because it meant so much to them. And I want all of them – because they’re all going to be worried that we’re making something rubbish – to be a little bit happier after they’ve seen the first episode.
Every part of this show feels like Sandman.
And that, for me, is the most important part, and what makes my heart happiest. I’m most excited for fans to see this story that, until now, and for over 30 years, has only ever been in their heads, actually happening.