We're now just over a week away from the premiere of The Sandman, and Netflix (via IGN) has debuted the first extended clips from its upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman's seminal DC Comics series.
The first is from the fourth episode, "A Hope in Hell," as Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) and Matthew (Patton Oswalt) arrive in the Underworld in search of the Dream Lord's helmet. Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) agrees to allow her old "friend" to search for the demon that stole his property, but getting it back will not be easy.
The second clip spotlights an emotional moment from episode 6, "The Sound of her Wings." A disillusioned Dream accompanies his sister, Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), on her rounds, and the pair arrive at the home of an elderly violinist named Harry who is not quite ready to pass on to the other side.
“I find that the compassion and the relatability of Death is what, for me, was the best way into the character, because I think that those are her defining features,” Howell-Baptiste says of her interpretation of "The Grim Reaper.". “In the majority of pop culture, when we have any depiction of Death, which essentially is just an idea, a concept, it's a lot more dark. It's doom and gloom, it's a lot more negative, for lack of a better word. The idea that people go into it kicking and screaming. And I think that the heart of what Neil created in the character of Death is dignity in death, and in that there is someone who is... It's a very uncertain and difficult thing, both for the person transitioning, and obviously the families that we focus on, the people transitioning.”
Check out both clips below, and let us know what you think.
"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 also stars Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, Charles Dance as black magician Roderick Burgess, and Sanjeeve Bhaskar as Cain. Joely Richardson will play Ethel Cripps, while David Thewlis will take on the role of her son John Dee, aka the deranged Dr. Destiny.
The 10-episode first season of The Sandman will adapt the first two arcs of the Vertigo comics series, "Preludes and Nocturnes" and "The Doll's House."