The Sandman Season 2 Stops Filming Due to Actors' Strike

After finally premiering its first season on Netflix last summer, The Sandman has now made its presence known in the television world. More episodes of the DC-inspired hit have been announced, but it looks like production is now on hold as the SAG-AFTRA actors union has officially gone on strike. In a post to BlueSky Social, The Sandman co-creator and executive producer Neil Gaiman confirmed that the Netflix series has paused production. 

"SAG-AFTRA strike is on. Sandman has stopped shooting completely, along with everything else that was squeaking by without writers," Gaiman's post reads. "I hope that the AMPTP sees reason and gets back to the table with the actors and the writers. I have no reason at this point to think they will see reason."

Will The Sandman's New Episodes Be Called Season 2?

During an appearance at Fan Expo San Francisco, Desire actor Mason Alexander Park addressed Netflix's decision to not refer to the new episodes as "Season 2", and teased that either way, new chapters of the story will be arriving "in a really cool way."

"Netflix has not gone on record as calling it a Season 2, on purpose," Park explained. "And so, I will, from now on and in the future, and possibly until the end of the universe not refer to it as Season 2 until we know what it is."

"There is more Sandman coming in a really cool way and it can take many forms, so we're starting shooting in the summer and we're gonna tackle the next huge chunk of stories in however long that might take," Park continued. "And I'm really excited to share the format of what that might be with everybody eventually."

What Is The Sandman about?

The Sandman is based on the iconic comic from Neil Gaiman and artists Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, Bryan Talbot, and Michael Zulli. 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.

Season 1 of the series stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, Kirby Howell-Baptise as Death, 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 Mason Alexander Park as Desire.

"There are decisions that haven't been made, but we are considering batching approaches," Netflix executive Peter Friedlander revealed in an interview last year. "Everything's on the table when it comes to Sandman. It's an innovative show."

"The Sandman always follows his own path. I do really believe that," Friedlander added. "The show, I think, was so popular because it was such a discovery and it was such an invention. That's what we're trying to honor as we continue to tell this story, and it shouldn't follow any path other than its own. And I genuinely believe that, and I want to help tell the story in that way with Neil and Allan, and protect the storytelling so it's the best experience it can be. And so part of that is also just keeping it secret till we know more!"

Are you excited that The Sandman is getting more episodes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The first season of The Sandman is now available to stream exclusively on Netflix.