Collider recently reported that Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman's seminal DC Vertigo comic series The Sandman had cast Tom Sturridge in the lead role of Dream. We still haven't received official confirmation from anyone involved in the series, but we may know which actors Gaiman and showrunner Allan Heinberg are looking at to play the "sexy villain" of the piece.
According to The Illuminerdi, both Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) and Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) are being eyed to play The Corinthian, with the former looking more likely to land the part after meeting with Gaiman earlier this year. Montgomery is still said to be very much "in the mix," however.
In the comics, The Corinthian is a rogue nightmare who escapes to the mortal realm (Earth) and becomes a serial killer. He was the main antagonist in "The Dolls House" arc, but that didn't kick off until issue #10, which suggests that this series is going to be taking a few liberties with the source materiel by making the tooth-eyed psycho a bigger character and a much more serious threat to his creator.
The 11-episode first season of The Sandman is expected to adapt the first arc of the Vertigo comics series, "Preludes and Nocturnes," which finds Morpheus captured by a black magician and held prisoner for the better part of a century. When he finally escapes, he sets about recovering three very important items, encountering Lucifer, John Constantine, Doctor Destiny, Martian Manhunter and more on his travels.
File this one in the rumor category for now, but if Hemsworth and Montgomery are indeed in contention for the role of The Corinthian, who do see as the best fit for the character?
The Sandman is expected to begin shooting later this year, but that's obviously subject to change.