For years it was conventional wisdom that an adaptation of The Sandman, the much-celebrated series of graphic novels from Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, and Mike Dringenberg, would be impossible to properly pull off. The property had remained in development limbo, with one version or another floating around the Hollywood ether, for well over two decades. It would take until 2022 for a Sandman adaptation to finally emerge, and fans will be glad to know it was worth the wait.
Clocking in at 10 episodes, Netflix's The Sandman, which was produced in association with Warner Bros., is an absolute home run of adapting comic book storytelling to screen. The series, which was developed by David S. Goyer (who worked on the Dark Knight Trilogy with Christopher and Jonathan Nolan), Allan Heinberg, and Neil Gaiman himself, nearly perfectly translates the dreamlike (and nightmarish) imagery and storytelling for the screen.
For the uninitiated, The Sandman is a sprawling dark fantasy story that follows the main character, Dream (sometimes known as Morpheus), a being who rules over the world of dreams and nightmares. The story begins when Dream is captured by human occultists and imprisoned for nearly a century, causing untold amounts of damage to humanity and the dream realm. This is the plot of both the first issue of the Sandman comics, as well as the premiere episode.
Each episode that follows sticks very closely to the plot of each issue, with some minor changes made to streamline the story and build a coherent throughline (something required for TV storytelling). These changes to the story, such as introducing the villainous Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) right at the beginning, make sense for the medium and don't work against the storytelling. If anything, they aid in translating such a sprawling and sometimes challenging story to the screen.
It's clear that a series was the right choice for The Sandman, as there's no way one movie could capture the multiple storylines as efficiently. This season closely follows the first two volumes of the comics, including a gripping and terrifying fifth episode based on one of the comics' most notorious issues set at a 24-hour diner. The second half of the series doesn't quite hold up as well as the first, and there are a few points where some of the darker aspects of the show are undercut by comedic relief. The finale also feels somewhat rushed in having to tie up a storyline that didn't get as many episodes to flesh everything out. For the most part, however, the show does a great job in making each episode feel unique while tying the entire series together in a coherent narrative.
Dream, played by Tom Sturridge, Endless, a group of beings who exist beyond the plane of humans and even gods, overseeing their various facets of life throughout the universe. Three of these siblings appear in the series, and each of them is captured perfectly by their actors' performances. Kirby Howell-Baptiste plays Death, Dream's more optimistic and kind-hearted sister. Howell-Baptiste imbues Death with the same sense of humanity that the character has in the comics. She understands that humans fear death, but that it is ultimately a necessary part of life.
On the other side of things is Desire, Dream's more cunning sibling played by Mason Alexander Park. Park, who is non-binary, is the perfect choice for Desire, who in the comics never had a defined gender. However, Park's casting goes beyond just being a non-binary actor. The way they capture Desire's playful but ultimately malicious plotting against Dream is pitch perfect. It's just one example of how the series so adeptly translates the story from page to screen. As far as casting goes, the show really nails every character. Much was made of Gwendolyn Christie playing Lucifer, but she exudes such menace and pure evil in all of her scenes that it's hard to imagine why anyone would object to it.
The rest of the cast acquit themselves well. Vivienne Acheampong plays Lucienne, Dream's loyal librarian with sparkling professionalism, and Patton Oswalt is having some fun as the voice of Matthew, Dream's trusty Raven companion. David Thewlis makes for a compelling John Dee, lending the character even more depth than he had in the comics and making him far more human. And in her appearances as Johanna Constantine, Jenna Coleman adds some new dimension to the famous occult detective.
The show would not work, though, without the perfect Dream, and Tom Sturridge proves in all of his scenes that he was the right choice. The main thing about the character is that he begins the story with a steely remove from humanity. This is a being that has existed for longer than can be comprehended, and he has little to no interest in the lives of people. Yet, as the story goes on, he learns to embrace humanity and see the good in them. Sturridge ably performs this development over the course of the series, translating how the character reads on the page into a stirring performance.
There will likely be some criticism of the show from comic book fans who wanted to see the art style of the comics translated perfectly to the screen. This being a live-action adaptation, that was never going to be the case, but that doesn't mean that the show lacks any visual flare or imagination. The kingdoms of the dreaming and Hell are both spectacular, with the production design of both translating their comic book appearance in a way that maintains their original looks. Likewise, the Endless are not portrayed exactly like their pasty white counterparts on the page, but having them just look like people was the smart choice, and allows the actors to really embody the characters rather than just looking like them.
It doesn't feel hyperbolic to say that The Sandman is a triumph, one that Neil Gaiman must feel very proud to have been involved with. From the cast, to the storytelling, to the visuals, these 10 episodes are about as close to perfect as a comic book adaptation can be. They show that it is possible to capture the story of the comics almost exactly without just feeling like a carbon copy, and that big, sprawling stories with deep themes can be brought to the screen without sacrificing what made them so special in the first place. It's good to know that a screen version of this celebrated title can be more than just a dream.
The Sandman is now streaming on Netflix.
The Sandman