Posted in: Netflix, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: neil gaiman, netflix, preview, The Sandman

The Sandman About "Surprising You" & "Reinventing Itself": Neil Gaiman

Netflix's adaptation of The Sandman from creator, EP & co-writer Neil Gaiman (Good Omens); EP, co-writer & showrunner Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman); and EP & co-writer David S. Goyer (Foundation) has been ranking pretty high on a number of "highly-anticipated" lists and from what we've seen so far? There's a very good reason for fans to be excited. With Gaiman on board, the series appears to be both faithful to the original work while also fresh and alive for a younger & more diverse generation. One of the key aspects of the work that differentiates it from other shows is its ability to deliver essentially a "new show" with each chapter while keeping the narrative threads flowing.

"You watch Episode 1 and think, 'Oh, I get this thing: it's like 'Downton Abbey,' but with magic.' Then you'll be wondering, 'What the hell is this?' by Episode 2 when you're meeting Gregory The Gargoyle in The Dreaming. Episode 5 is about as dark and traumatic as anything is ever gonna get, then you've got Episode 6, which is probably the most feel-good of all the episodes," Gaiman explained during an interview with Empire. And as the famed author sees it, it's that mix of themes, tones & styles that differentiates The Sandman from other fantasy series. "If you didn't like an episode of 'Game Of Thrones,' you probably won't like any other episode of 'Game Of Thrones,'" explains Gaiman. "With Sandman, it's all about surprising you. It's all about reinventing itself. It's all about taking you on a journey you've not been on before." Here's our first official look at a scene from Netflix's The Sandman:

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.

"For the last thirty-three years, the Sandman characters have breathed and walked around and talked in my head. 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," said Gaiman in a statement coinciding with the initial casting news. "This is astonishing, and I'm so grateful to the actors and to all of The Sandman collaborators — Netflix, Warner Bros., DC, to Allan Heinberg and David Goyer, and the legions of crafters and geniuses on the show — for making the wildest of all my dreams into reality."

Stemming from Warner Bros. TV, Netflix's The Sandman stars Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Jenna Coleman, Niamh Walsh, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Kyo Ra, Stephen Fry, Razane Jammal, Sandra James Young, and Patton Oswalt.

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