Netflix has announced that the upcoming second season of The Sandman will be its last.
Showrunner Allan Heinberg shared the following statement along with the first official season 2 poster art.
“The Sandman series has always been focused exclusively on Dream’s story, and back in 2022, when we looked at the remaining Dream material from the comics, we knew we only had enough story for one more season. We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team all back together and giving us the time and resources to make a faithful adaptation in a way that we hope will surprise and delight the comics’ loyal readers as well as fans of our show.”
This news comes shortly after the publication of a New York Magazine piece outlining - in disturbing detail - new allegations of sexual assault made against The Sandman creator and series EP Neil Gaiman.
Fans obviously assumed that these accusations led to the show being cancelled, but Variety is claiming that "the second season was intended to be the last prior to filming."
Whether this is accurate or not, fans of the acclaimed series are not happy. While it's true that excluding elements of the comic run that don't focus specifically on Morpheus would allow them to adapt more of the story, it'll be difficult to do justice to the later arcs (The Kindly Ones, for example) with just one more season.
Though official season 2 plot details have not been disclosed, we have a pretty good idea of what to expect, and a recently-released featurette spotlighted shots from two key sequences: The Endless family meeting that kickstarts the events of Season of Mists (and actually lays the groundwork for the entire saga), and the banquet Morpheus holds in his realm in an attempt to find the right person (well, deity, fairy, or demon) to take up a very important position.
WhatsOnNetflix recently revealed 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
Have you watched The Sandman yet? If so, what do you make of this news? You can check out our review of the first season 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.