The Sandman, the classic Vertigo series created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg, has finally moved forward after years of development issues. Netflix streaming service, which is producing the series, has announced casting for the upcoming production.
The Sandman tells the story of Dream, the immortal anthropomorphic embodiment of storytelling, and his journey after escaping the captivity of human sorcerers and returning to his realm in The Dreaming.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Tony-nominated actor Tom Sturridge (Orphans, Sea Wall/A Life) will play the title role Dream/Morpheus in the new series. Other casting announcements include:
- Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) will play Lucifer, the ruler of Hell whom Dream must visit shortly after his escape.
- Vivienne Acheampong (The Witches) will play Lucienne, chief librarian of The Dreaming and Dream’s most trusted lieutenant.
Interestingly, these casting choices gender-swapped from the comic iterations, where both characters are depicted as male.
- Charles Dance will play Roderick Burgess, human magician and leader of the cult that captures Dream.
- Boyd Holbrook (Logan) will play the Corinthian, a living nightmare whose eyes are made of teeth.
- Sanjeev Bhaskar and Asim Chaudhry will play Cain and Abel, who after millennia after becoming the first murderer and the first victim, now live as storytellers in neighboring houses in The Dreaming, though their sibling rivalry continues to manifest in the form of deadly violence.
There is still one unknown casting, that of Death, Dream’s sister and goth girl icon. An integral part of the story, hopefully, the character and actor portraying her, will be announced around the series premiere.
No release date was announced at this time.
