Sometimes dreams do come true, and for fans of Netflix’s streaming series The Sandmanbased on the DC Comics series, that time will come when Season 2 finally hits the service.
Many of the Season 1 cast members are expected to return, as viewers discover what happens after Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, takes up residence in his domain after his long absence and quest to regain his powers. Tom Sturridge is back as Dream, as is Kirby as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, and Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine.
Filming for the news season was suspended during the 2023 Hollywood strikes, but resumed in November 2023, so we don’t know exactly when The Sandman The release date for season 2 has not yet been announced, but it probably won’t be long now.
For the rest of what we know about season 2 of Netflix’s The SandmanRead more.
July 2, 2024: Netflix has released a series of casting information about mortal and mythological characters that gives a good indication of the size of The Sandman season 2.
Clive Russel (rock wall), Laurence O’Fuarain (The gentlemen), and Freddie Fox (House of the Dragon) will play the Norse gods Odin, Thor and Loki, respectively. Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones), Ann Skelly (The Nevers), and Douglas Booth (Jupiter rising) will play three elf characters: Puck, Nuala and Cluracan.
These are characters that play an important role in the Season of Mists arc of The Sandmanintroduced with Puck during an edition in which, facilitated by Dream, the players of William Shakespeare perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream before the court of Queen Titania and King Oberon.
Ruairi O’Connor (The morning show) will play the legendary bard Orpheus, child of Dream and Calliope (who we met in the surprise 11th episode of the first season), with Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge) as Barnabas the talking dog, and Indya Moore (Attitude) as Wanda, a “professional chauffeur and security guard for an exclusive travel agency,” according to Netflix’s press release. Netflix says that “Wanda proves to be an indispensable guide on an endless road trip to the waking world.”
“An endless road trip to the waking world” is the plot of the Sandman Brief Lives storyline, which features Orpheus, Barnabas, and a professional chauffeur/bodyguard named Ruby. But Wanda — a trans woman who gets caught up in a messy affair between a dream parasite and a witch — is one of the key players in the A Game of You storyline.
So it seems that The Sandman Season 2 will pick up where Season 1 left off, and will either cover at least three arcs of the series — Season of Mists, A Game of You, and Brief Lives — or will introduce characters to set them up for those arcs. It will also apparently include a number of one-issue short stories from the Fables and reflections collection. And if Wanda and Ruby’s characters are indeed combined, that would seem to indicate that A Game of You, the Sandman story that likely looks worst in 2024 is being revised and incorporated into the Brief Lives saga.
May 20, 2024: Netflix announced the casting of the three remaining members of the Endless, the family of powerful anthropomorphic personifications, of which Dream is only the middle child. These three did not appear in the first season of the show. Adrian Lester (Rush) will play Destiny, Esmé Creed-Miles (The Legend of Vox Machina) will play Delirium, and Barry Sloane (Longsmire) will play a character referred to in Netflix’s press release as “the prodigal son.” (Readers of the Sandman (comics will know.)
November 29, 2023: Neil Gaiman Announces Production on The Sandman has resumed after a four-month hiatus due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
November 2, 2022: Netflix announces more Sandman “stories” are on their way.