Posted in: Netflix, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: hbo max, neil gaiman, netflix, preview, sandman

The Sandman Would Be "Same Show" at Netflix or HBO Max: Neil Gaiman

You know what? Think of it this way. At least he gets a break from having to defend the excellent casting of Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, or Mason Alexander Park as Desire from supposed "fans." Because there's another narrative that's been building on social media from doomsayers with an unwavering belief that the upcoming The Sandman adaptation 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) is going to be ruined because Gaiman had Netflix make it. Earlier today, someone tweeted that they had "zero faith" in Netflix being able to make the series work and that "it could have been even grander if it was a HBO show or if it was produced by HBO max or something" (before giving Gaiman the benefit of the doubt that Gaiman knows what he's doing… a truly "grand" gesture). While we're not always the first to jump to Netflix's defense (we still think they screwed over Cowboy Bebop), Gaiman makes it clear that that line of thinking shows how many folks out there don't actually know who's producing the series. "The brand loyalty to networks fascinates me. 'Sandman' is being made by [Warner Bros TV], the same people who would have made it if HBO Max had won the bidding war to put it on their platform, by the same team HBO would have been bidding for. Same show," Gaiman wrote in his response tweet- take a look:

"I was so thrilled Allen Heinberg asked me to play Lucifer because it is a grandiose part. There are few castings that can supersede that – maybe God, whatever that is! Also, it's fun to be awful," Christie explained regarding the importance of the role in an interview with Empire. And as for the androgynous nature of the fallen angel, Christie was confident that wouldn't be a problem based on her experience working on another well-known franchise. "Neil clarified that Lucifer is a fallen angel and that an angel doesn't have gender at all," Christie revealed. "And I can play androgynous. We know that from 'Game Of Thrones,' due to the way I look. So I hope that has helped in the portrayal of the character." For Goyer, Christie just seemed like the logical fit. "Lucifer is this Bowie-esque creature in the comic book and I thought, 'Well who is a bigger fucking rock star than Gwendoline Christie?'" he explained.

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 on the series. "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, Patton Oswalt, and Mark Hamill.

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