Fans of Netflix’s The Sandman were surprised last week when the streamer dropped a bonus special episode on Friday, with the episode adapting two standalone stories from the original The Sandman comic book series, the animated “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” from The Sandman #18 and a live-action adaptation of “Calliope” from The Sandman #17. But there was another surprise within the surprise — some of the voice cast of “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” includes actors from Audible’s The Sandman as well.
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On Twitter, creator Neil Gaiman shared an image outlining the voice cast of “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” which included Tom Sturridge, star of the Netflix adaptation, but James McAvoy, David Tennant, and Michael Sheen as well. You can check out Gaiman’s tweet below.
Gaiman also revealed that while the bonus episode was a surprise for viewers, it’s something that had been planned from very early on and that producer David S. Goyer was the one who initially suggested it.
“It was David Goyer’s suggestion. but we immediately embraced it,” Gaiman told EW. “We were just about to pitch the show to streaming platforms, and the decision was made that we were going to be pitching 11 episodes. We would do 10 episodes and then there would be an 11th, a special that no one would know about. That’s what everyone knew they were buying. It also meant we could begin the process for those stories very, very early on.”
The Sandman has been well received by critics, earning a 4-out-of-5 review from ComicBook.com: “While purists may bemoan some of the changes, they ultimately make for a more cohesive viewing experience that still allows the individual short stories within the grander saga the room needed for viewers to fully appreciate them. The Sandman team has taken Dream’s comics and crafted a worthy adaptation of a story that is, after all, about how we take the stuff of dreams and apply it to our lives, our art, and our relationships. And after seeing that tease at the end of Season 1, viewers will almost certainly be dreaming of what comes next.”
The Sandman is now streaming on Netflix.
