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The Sandman "Season 2" Filming Reports Raise Some Questions (SPOILERS)

Based on the filming reports coming from The Sandman Season 2, (SPOILER) appears - and that raises our hopes about an even bigger issue.

Well, this was a pretty big week in terms of the second season of EP & co-writer Neil Gaiman (Good Omens); EP, co-writer & showrunner Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman); and EP & co-writer David S. Goyer's The Sandman. That's because filming officially kicked off – though with the WGA/AMPTP writers' strike still ongoing, Gaiman is honoring the picket lines, and the scripts being filmed are "locked" (no rewriting, filmed as they represented on the page). And in less than a week, we already have some looks that hit social media that have a lot of folks speculating. At this point, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer because we're speculating, too – but not so much about what's in the images that were shared as what the filming could mean when it comes to the talk from earlier this year about Season 2 being presented in a format different from the typical "season" structure.

If you've been looking for updates on the second season, The Daily Mail and a number of folks with visual access to where filming was taking place shared images of Tom Sturridge's Morpheus conversing with a man on a beach – with the man wearing a flowing white robe and holding what appears to be the lyre (an ancient Greek stringed instrument, which would tie the character to the Greek myth origins). In 1991's The Sandman Special #1: The Song of Orpheus, the story is retold within the context of "The Sandman" universe – with Gaiman's Orpheus being the offspring of Morpheus and the muse Calliope.

If the rumblings are correct, the scene being filmed was a moment where Morpheus attempts to talk Orpheus out of venturing into Hell. Without going too much deeper into spoilers, let's just say that Orpheus has less to worry about when it comes to robes after it turns out Morpheus was right about that whole "don't go to Hell" thing. And that will lead to a series of events that will bring about a certain "Dreamy" individual's downfall. Now, that's pretty cool all by itself. But the fact that what's being filmed comes from one of the "specials" has us thinking back to the beginning of this year

During an interview with Variety from back in January of this year, Peter Friedlander, Netflix's head of UCAN scripted TV, was asked why the streamer seemed hesitant to call what's on the way a "season." While not directly addressing it, Friedlander had a very interesting response when asked about the rumblings that the season will actually be handled in "volumes" or in groupings that are more in line with how the storylines run in the comics.

"There are decisions that haven't been made, but we are considering batching approaches. Everything's on the table when it comes to 'Sandman.' It's an innovative show." So could that include "bonus episodes" as we had with "A Dream of a Thousand Cats/ Calliope"? "The Sandman always follows his own path. I do really believe that. The show, I think, was so popular because it was such a discovery and it was such an invention. That's what we're trying to honor as we continue to tell this story, and it shouldn't follow any path other than its own," Friedlander teased, not exactly pushing back on the theory. "And I genuinely believe that, and I want to help tell the story in that way with Neil and Allan and protect the storytelling so it's the best experience it can be. And so part of that is also just keeping it secret till we know more!"

So is what we're seeing that new season/volumes philosophy being put into play? Or is the special being blended into the overarching main "season" storyline? We've gone on record as saying that the "volumes" approach would be not only some very cool, outside-the-box thinking but also a great way to remain faithful to the core of each specific collected work.

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