The long awaited casting announcement for the upcoming Netflix original series Sandman based on Neil Gaiman’s (Good Omens, American Gods) comic book series is here. The cast includes Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Tom Sturridge (Velvet Buzzsaw), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Vivienne Acheampong (The Witches), Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), Sanjeev Bhaskar (Good Omens) and Asim Chaudhry (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch), as reported by Indiewire.
Sandman was originally a long running popular comic book series written by Gaiman from 1989 to 1996. Via Indiewire, the official synopsis for the upcoming series is as follows: “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.”
The Netflix adaptation of Sandman has been a long time in the making, with Gaiman waiting decades to finally bring his characters to life. He will be executive producing the show alongside David S. Goyer (Terminator: Dark Fate) and Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman), who also serves as the series showrunner. All three will serve as co-writers.
Indiewire picked up a statement Gaiman released on Thursday regarding the casting: “For the last 33 years, the Sandman characters have breathed and walked around and talked in my head,” Gaiman said in a statement announcing the casting. “I’m unbelievably happy that now, finally, they get to step out of my head and into reality. I can’t wait until the people out there get to see what we’ve been seeing as Dream and the rest of them take flesh, and the flesh belongs to some of the finest actors out there…”
The official character descriptions stars Sturridge as Dream, the lord of dreaming. In a gender swapping role, Christie will play Lucifer, Ruler of hell. In another gender reversed role, Acheampong will play Lucienne (formerly Lucien), head librarian and guardian of Dream’s realm. Holbrook will portray The Corinthian, an escaped nightmare. Dance will play Roderick Burgess, a Charlatan, blackmailer, and magician. And lastly, Chaundry is Abel, and Bhaskar is Cain, the first victim and the first predator.
The cast notably includes a mini Game of Thrones reunion, featuring Christie and Dance in leading roles. Christie rose to prominence on the HBO series portraying the fierce warrior Brienne of Tarth while Dance played the villainous Tywin Lannister. This is also a return to the streamer for Chaudhry, who starred in the Netflix original film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, and Holbrook who starred in the Netflix original series Narcos.
In the wake of the casting announcements, Christie posted a photo on instagram, writing “It begins…” See her post below:
The filming of Sandman is already underway with production having begun in September. Now, there is a little less mystery surrounding the series as fans can finally put faces to their beloved characters.