The Endless have assembled!
Netflix has shared a brief teaser for the second season of The Sandman, reintroducing the members of The Endless we met during season 1, Dream, Death, Desire and Despair, while providing our first glimpse of Morpheus' remaining siblings, Destiny, Delirium, and "The Prodigal."
Esmé Creed-Miles will play the youngest of the Endless, Delirium, while Adrian Lester will take on the role of the all-seeing Destiny, and Barry Sloane will play The Prodigal.
Anyone who has read Neil Gaiman's comic series will know who this really is, and while it wouldn't seem like much of a spoiler to reveal the name, it's clearly something the show is choosing to keep under wraps for the time being.
We still don't have a return date for The Sandman, but WhatsOnNetflix did recently reveal the titles of the first six (of what is believed to be 12 in total) episodes.
The Song of Orpheus
More Devils Than Vast Hell Can Hold
Brief Lives
Family Blood
The Ruler of Hell
Season of Mists
If you've read the comic, these titles will make a lot more sense, but if this is indeed just the first of two volumes, it seems clear that season 2 will fully adapt both the "Brief Lives" and "Season of Mists" arcs, before possibly even moving on to "The Kindly Ones."
Gaiman shared the following message to fans when the series officially resumed filming.
"We never know where our dreams will take us. Thirty-five years ago today, the first issue of The Sandman was released and set many people and characters on paths that seemed, even at the time, so unlikely as to be impossible. Back then most comics featured superheroes. Sandman wasn’t that. It wasn’t like anything else, but magically (the magic consisting of hard work, youthful overconfidence, and some key people who believed in the vision) we were given the opportunity to tell the story I had in my head and bring Morpheus and the rest of the Endless to life.
A little over 36 years ago, in October 1987, the worst storm in at least 500 years left my house without power and my family trapped in our little village by fallen trees, and I spent my time writing an outline for the first eight issues of Sandman.
Thirteen months later, in November 1988, the first issue of Sandman hit the comics shops. Like those who walk a path in Destiny’s garden, I look back and see one clear path stretching behind me. At times on this journey the way forward seemed impossible, and I don’t think I could have conceived of the impact that these characters would have on individuals or on the world. When I look at the path ahead, though, I don’t see darkness. I see how the world of The Sandman continues to grow and evolve and take new forms.
This week we officially restart production on the next sequence of stories of The Sandman for Netflix. Genius showrunner Allan Heinberg and the countless people in front of and behind the camera are building something endlessly special, and bringing these stories to life in a way that would once have been unimaginable.
A journey is beginning that will take us from Destiny’s garden to Hell, from the Heart of the Dreaming to Ancient Greece and revolutionary France, and from there to places even I cannot quite imagine on the screen. I will be patient. Good things are coming."
Have you watched The Sandman yet? You can check out our review here.
"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."
The Sandman stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, Kirby Howell Baptiste as Death, Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, Donna Preston as Despair, Stephen Fry as Gilbert, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, Charles Dance as black magician Roderick Burgess, and Sanjeeve Bhaskar as Cain. Joely Richardson plays Ethel Cripps, while David Thewlis takes on the role of her son John Dee, aka the deranged Dr. Destiny.