Netflix’s The Sandman Series Casts Tom Sturridge as Dream

From the Good Omens and American Gods TV series to the How to Talk to Girls at Parties film and at The Ocean at the End of the Lane play, it’s been a good couple of years to be a fan of Neil Gaiman adaptations. This is especially true if you’re a fan of The Sandman, the acclaimed comic book series written by Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Earlier this year, Audible released a multi-part audio drama directed by Dirk Maggs with Gaiman acting as the creative director, executive producer, and narrator on the project, and Netflix continues to move forward with its own screen adaptation of the graphic novel. The latest news? The project has found its star…

According to Collider, Tom Sturridge is in talks to appear as Dream in the Netflix adaptation of The Sandman. Dream (also known as Morpheus and Sandman, among other names) is the main character in a story, and is one of the seven Endless (you’ve also got Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction); Morpheus rules over the world of dreams. The bulk of the graphic series’ first arc follows Morpheus after, having been imprisoned for decades by mortals and stripped of his tools, he escapes and searches for his helmet, ruby, and sand pouch. In the process, he encounters characters from across the DC world and beyond, such as Lucifer Morningstar, John Constantine, and Doctor Destiny.

The Sandman Netflix series comes from Warner Bros. TV with Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman) acting as the showrunner. Both Gaiman and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Krypton) will be executive producing. The first season will have 11 episodes, and is slated to begin shooting in three weeks after a production delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Collider’s sources, Sturridge edged out other Dream hopefuls, such as Poldark‘s Tom York and Merlin‘s Colin Morgan, to secure the role. Sturridge has previously appeared in Far from the Madding Crowd, Sweetbitter, and Mary Shelley. This would represent a much more high-profile role for the English actor, who has previously appeared in many mainstream projects, but not in the lead role. The role of Dream was recently portrayed by James McAvoy in the Audible audio drama.

Speaking about the Netflix Sandman adaptation during a virtual press roundtable (via Comicbook.com), Gaiman said in July: “Okay, it is 2020, let’s say that I was doing Sandman starting in 2020, what would we do? How would we change things? What gender would this character be? Who would this person be? What would be happening?”

More news on Netflix’s Sandman adaptation as we get it.