The final episodes of The Sandman are now streaming on Netflix, and the series concludes with a faithful adaptation of the longest (and many would say best) storyline from Neil Gaiman's seminal saga, "The Kindly Ones."
Spoilers ahead.
With his realm in danger of being destroyed by the Fates, aka the Furies, aka the Kindly Ones, Morpheus ultimately decides to give his life to save the Dreaming, with Death taking her brother's hand in a flash of light. The Sandman is dead, but another aspect of Dream must replace him: Daniel Hall, a child conceived in The Dreaming (technically Morpheus' nephew, as it's strongly implied that Desire was the one who seduced Lyta Hall).
When the infant Daniel becomes an adult in order to fulfil his role as the new Dream Lord, we learn that the character is played by Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones, Interview With the Vampire).
"Jacob’s being available was a miracle because I assumed he was busy with Interview with the Vampire," showrunner Allan Heinberg tells THR. "So once we found out he was available, that was it for me. The challenge was in trying to describe what I was offering him. (Laughs.) Luckily, when we got on that first Zoom, he knew Sandman by heart. He knew who Daniel was. He was a huge fan of season one. I didn’t have to say anything. He was like, 'I can’t wait to play this part.'” "
Heinberg adds: "Part of [what I told him] is, 'We don’t want you to do a Tom Sturridge imitation, but Tom Sturridge is in you in a certain way.' It’s an impossible role, and he made it seem easy. It made writing our version of Daniel a pleasure, because there’s nothing that Jacob can’t do. He’s such an extraordinary actor. Especially the scene with Lyta. But all the scenes he has are so challenging, because he’s an eight-month-old. He’s a toddler in a man’s body trying to understand what’s just happened to him, and he pulls it off effortlessly, and in a way that makes us root for him, love him and care about him."
You can check out some images of Anderson as Daniel/Dream below.
Season 2's synopsis reads: “After a fateful reunion with his family, Dream of the Endless (Tom Sturridge) must face one impossible decision after another as he attempts to save himself, his kingdom, and the waking world from the epic fallout of his past misdeeds. To make amends, Dream must confront longtime friends and foes, gods, monsters, and mortals. But the path to forgiveness is full of unexpected twists and turns, and true absolution may cost Dream everything. Based on the beloved award-winning DC comic series, the second season of ‘The Sandman’ will tell Dream’s story arc in full to its thrilling conclusion.”
Season 2 stars Tom Sturridge, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Esmé Creed-Miles, Adrian Lester, Barry Sloane, Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Ferdinand Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Razane Jammal, Ruairi O’Connor, Freddie Fox, Clive Russell, Laurence O’Fuarain, Ann Skelly, Douglas Booth, Jack Gleeson, Indya Moore and Steve Coogan.