'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On September 25, Netflix released the first official footage of its upcoming series on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. After decades of failed attempts, the live-action take on Gaiman's famed DC comic-book series (1989-1996) is finally set to grace screens worldwide in 2022.
Netflix's The Sandman has been developed by David S Goyer (writer of 'The Dark Knight' trilogy), Allan Heinberg (2017's Wonder Woman writer) and Neil Gaiman himself. The IP was previously adapted into a star-studded audiobook for Amazon Audible. The first act of the audiobook has been available since July 2020. Meanwhile, the second act premiered on the platform last week, on September 22.
According to Gaiman, Netflix's take will be faithful to its source material and will be updated to fit the modern era. The series will be set in the present day, i.e. 2021.
The series will start with Dream getting captured by a mortal wizard in 1916. Later, Dream (aka Morpheus or The Sandman) will escape, taking control of his realm, "The Dreaming", in 2021, after 105 years.
On that note, here are 5 things to know about Netflix's The Sandman.
#5) Who are the Endless?
Endless are metaphysical beings who are often quoted as individuals older than the gods. They are the embodiment of aspects of life and natural forces. The seven Endless refer to themselves as siblings and consider their group as a family.
According to Neil Gaiman's comic-book series, Endless are the children of cosmic beings Night and Time.
Destiny is the oldest of the Endless, followed by Death, Dream (The Sandman), Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium (aka Delight). They all have their own separate realms where they rule.
#4) Who are The Sandman's siblings?
The original comic series established that the Endless family is very dysfunctional and quite often do not see eye-to-eye. Destruction has left the family, while Destiny does not interact with the other members much. Dream is disliked by the younger siblings. However, later in the comic-book series, Delirium forms a bond with him.
Destiny:
The oldest of all the siblings, Destiny rules over the realm of Garden of Forking Ways (a maze that refers to life's journey). Destiny is blind, but he can see through his Divination and is capable of metamorphosis. He knows everything of the past, present, and future.
Destiny is bound to rules that prevent him from killing his family members or falling in love with a mortal.
Death:
She is Dream's elder sister and is quite close to him, often serving as his only advisor. Contrary to the nature of the job, Death is very kind and cheerful. She is omnipresent and omniscient, with the ability to shapeshift.
Death has power over the souls of mortals and can separate it from their bodies. Although her realm was never officially confirmed, it has been referred to as "The Light at the End of the Tunnel."
Destruction:
He left his realm 300 years ago and has had almost no interaction with the other Endless in his family.
Desire and Despair:
They are twins and the second-youngest amongst the siblings. Desire does not identify with a single gender, and its realm is known as "The Threshold." Meanwhile, Despair appears as an obese woman, and her realm is known as "The Gray Realm."
Delirium:
She is the youngest of Endless and is also known as Delight. The entity usually appears in her late teens, but her appearance varies with different colors of hair. Her realm is known as "Mad."
#3) Origin of Dream
Dream (Sandman) is also known as Morpheus. He is the lord of dreams and stories. According to Gaiman's comics, Dream controls sleep, dreams, nightmares, and even insomnia.
He is also known as Kai'ckul, Sandman, and Oneiros.
Morpheus (Dream) is known as "The Sandman" as he has totem-like objects which hold a portion of his powers; among these artifacts is a pouch of sand. He can use this sand to induce others to sleep and can release dreams into the real world.
His powers and abilities include magical prowess, shapeshifting, telekinesis, superhuman strength, super reflexes, along with super stamina.
#2) Sigils or Symbols of the Endless
The Endless siblings possess a sigil or a symbol that allows them to contact each other while also having different abilities relating to their powers. Destiny's sigil is a book, while Death's sigil is the ankh pendant around her neck. Similarly, the Sandman has a helmet made from his enemy's skull. Destruction has a sword, Desire has a glass heart, and Despair has a ring with a hook. Meanwhile, Delirium's sigil is a spiral of colors that fades to black when she is sad.
#1) Dream's capture
Just like in the comic book, Dream (The Sandman) was captured by Roderick Burgess of the Order of the Ancient Mysteries. In 1916, Burgess tried to capture Death but instead got hold of Dream when he was returning from a place far from Earth. As he was weak and exhausted at the time, Burgess captured him in a glass bubble behind a magic circle in a place called the Undercroft.
Here, the Sandman was captured for 75 years in the comics and escaped in 1991. However, the series will change his capture's duration to 105 years so that Dream will be escaping in the present year 2021.
Main Cast
- Tom Sturridge is Dream (aka The Sandman), Lord of "The Dreaming."
- Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Hell's ruler.
- Vivienne Acheampong is Lucienne, Dream's realms guardian.
- Boyd Holbrook is the Corinthian, an escaped nightmare.
- Charles Dance is Roderick Burgess, the mortal leader who captured Dream.
- Asim Chaudhry, as Abel and Sanjeev Bhaskar are Cain, the first murder victim and the first murderer, live in Dream's realm.
While the Amazon Audible series has already covered some of the takes on Morpheus' (The Sandman's), the Netflix live-action series is expected to be more modern and different to the other iteration.
