For Sandman creator Neil Gaiman it has been decades of watching others attempt to adapt his iconic comics into live-action. Feature film versions have come and gone but a television series from Netflix is officially on the horizon and will premiere later this year. In a wide ranging interview, Gaiman and series star Tom Sturridge spoke at length about the series with the former saying he had to tell the later to stop acting like he was Batman when in character. “I growled at him once and said, ‘stop being Batman,’” Gaiman told Entertainment Weekly. “He was trying to get a bit whispery.” Sturridge adds: “It was literally my first day! But it was incredibly helpful.”
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On the note of Morpheus’ speaking in the TV series, Gaiman went on to reveal his ideas and how involved he was in helping guide the series. “Morpheus’ dialogue is incredibly specific. It was probably the thing I was most obsessive about. Someone would have written a fabulous script, [showrunner] Allan Heinberg would have rewritten a fabulous script, and I would have seen it at every iteration, but there would always be a point at the end where I would still be noodling on the Morpheus dialogue: Making sure the words were right, that the rhythms were right.”
Sturridge revealed a piece of advice that Gaiman gave him, adding: “I remember you said to me that everything he says has to feel like it was etched in stone. He’s never improvising. He has experienced and perceived every thought, dream, and moment, and therefore he knows what you’re going to say. That was very helpful.”
Sturridge will lead the all-star cast for the series alongside Howell-Baptiste. Other confirmed cast members include Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, Asim Chaudhry as Abel, Sanjeev Bhaskar as Cain, Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, Joely Richardson as Ethel Cripps, David Thewlis as John Dee, Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, Stephen Fry as Gilbert, Patton Oswalt as the voice of Dream’s raven Matthew, .and as Dream’s siblings, Mason Alexander Park as Desire and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death.
Netflix’s official description for the series reads as follows: “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.” With the Netflix Geeked Week set to take place this summer, we can hope that a full trailer, and maybe a premiere date, for Sandman will be revealed.
