Standing shoulder to shoulder with the giants of DC and Marvel (well, since it was published by Vertigo, it's more the former anyway), Neil Gaiman's The Sandman has, in its more than three decades of existence, grown to become one of the most beloved examples of storytelling in the genre. Resistant to adaptation for many years (partly because Gaiman didn't want to see a bad movie version come to life), it's now been given the full-on Netflix treatment. And with the show now close to its August arrival, there was much excitement at this year's Comic-Con, including a panel featuring the cast and crew and, of course, a new trailer…
Many of you may know the sprawling story of The Sandman (which Gaiman co-created with artists Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg), but in case anyone needs a briefing, here's the synopsis…
"There is another world that waits for all of us when we close our eyes and sleep — a place called the Dreaming, where The Sandman, Master of Dreams (Tom Sturridge), gives shape to all of our deepest fears and fantasies. But when Dream is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for a century, his absence sets off a series of events that will change both the dreaming and waking worlds forever. To restore order, Dream must journey across different worlds and timelines to mend the mistakes he’s made during his vast existence, revisiting old friends and foes, and meeting new entities — both cosmic and human — along the way." Of course, even that can't quite contain all of what The Sandman is about, making room for myths, legends, gods, monsters, angels demons and Dream's family, including older sister Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste in the show.)
The panel for the series was naturally going to be a big one, that rare series to make it to Hall H with a sprinkling of the cast (Sturridge, Howell-Baptiste, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Mason Alexander Park, Jenna Coleman, Vanesu Samunyai, Patton Oswalt plus Gaiman and showrunner/executive producer Allan Heinberg.
Gaiman talked about the story's long journey to the screen and wheeled out a couple of con-exclusive clips from episodes, including a fan-favourite moment between Dream and Death.
Sturridge – who was cast after the producers had seen hundreds of actors for the role - revealed that he was now an avid fan of the source material having not encountered it before he got the gig as Morpheus.
Perhaps the biggest news to emerge was that Gaiman had asked The Sandman cover artist Dave McKean to come out of retirement and create the end credits sequences. “Every episode has end-title credits, and it’s a different sequence for each episode,” said the writer, “this amazing, flowing film that Dave McKean made.”
The Sandman materializes its first season on Netflix on 5 August.