In collaboration with comic series creator Neil Gaiman, Netflix is finally bringing a live-action adaptation of The Sandman to the world. Announced in 2019, The Sandman has had years to build anticipation in fans of the comics and pique interest in newcomers as nuggets of information related to casting, the scope of this season, and how closely it stays to the comics have been released.
Fans of Gaiman’s The Sandman have been waiting a long time for an adaptation that does the series justice. Gaiman himself has been known to stop “bad versions” from being made, telling Total Film that he’s been terrified of Sandman following the legacy of the 1986 film adaptation of Howard the Duck and thus determined not to let any adaptation of his own work ruin the world he and his fans love so much. Even though the audiobook adaptation of The Sandman, available on Amazon’s audiobook and podcast service Audible, has done well and helped tide fans over with its cast of notable names such as Riz Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, James McAvoy, Andy Serkis, and Neil Gaiman himself, people are still eager to see this story brought to the screen.
In Netflix, Gaiman seems to have finally found the perfect home for Sandman. In a Den of Geek interview with showrunner Allan Heinberg he says “… Neil allowed us not only to imagine what happens between panels or off-page, but he was contributing, from the very beginning, just pitching, ‘What if? What if? What if?’ There was never a defensive pose with Neil in any way,” showing that while Neil was heavily involved in the creative process, he didn’t totally dominate the writer’s room. He was open to Heinberg and David S. Goyer’s ideas for adapting The Sandman, even if they differed from exactly how the story plays out in the comics.
When and Where Will The Sandman Be Available to Watch?
Announced at Netflix’s Geeked Week panel in June, The Sandman is set to premiere on Netflix Aug. 5th, 2022. Following the streaming service’s typical all-at-once release model, this means that all episodes of the series should be available to watch at 12 a.m. PT/ 3 a.m. ET on that date for Netflix subscribers.
