After years of attempts (and decades of fans' fervent wishes), The Sandman has finally been adapted for the small screen. Based on Neil Gaiman's 75-volume DC Comics series, the fantasy saga depicts a world where the Endless—personifications of human phenomena like dreams, death, and desire—perform their duties and keep balance in the world (while also butting heads with each other and an ensemble cast of other non-human beings).
The first season, which was helmed by showrunner Allan Heinberg and with Gaimon on as an executive producer Gaimon, arrived on Netflix in August 2022, as millions of fans watched Dream's journey to reestablish his power after over a century's imprisonment. The next batch of episodes may have hit a delay with the 2023 Hollywood strikes, but Netflix has kept The Sandman television universe alive with its first spin-off, Dead Boy Detectives. More of the original series is on the way soon, though, so read on for what we know about the upcoming season 2 of The Sandman.
How does 'The Sandman' season 1 end?
The first season of the Netflix adaptation spans the first two volumes of the comic series' timeline. It included the answer to Rose Walker's fate, as Unity Kincaid sacrificed herself to become the new vortex, followed by Dream declaring a new era now that he's more in touch with humanity. He also confronts Desire, who apparently set off the whole vortex saga while Dream was imprisoned, as their latest scheme against the king of Dreams.
The big cliffhanger comes with the show's last scene in Hell, which reveals that Lucifer is still angry after Dream defeated her in episode 3. She now has a plan to bring down Dream, using with the armies of Hell to invade the Dreaming, the Waking World, and "one day, even the Silver City." The season ends with Lucifer promising to do something that will "make God absolutely livid, and bring Morpheus to his knees."
Has 'The Sandman' been renewed for season 2?
Yes! Netflix announced the show's renewal in November 2022, three months after the series' premiere. The confirmation also came with a quote from Gaiman, reading, "There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus & the rest of them… Now it’s time to get back to work. There’s a family meal ahead... And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell."
The official renewal came as good news to fans wondering when the green light would come through, especially since the show's creative team had already been planning new episodes. In an interview with Den of Geek, executive producer David S. Goyer revealed writing for season 2 was already underway.
The creative team has also been thinking ahead for the show's entire run, with Gaiman telling Bustle that season 1's production even included filming some scenes that would be necessary in the far-off future.
"We’ve shot footage in season 1 that we would need if we ever get to season 5. It’s there, and it’s stored,” Gaiman told the outlet. "We know how we would do the entire Sandman storyline up to and including the last one, Sandman Overture."
When will 'The Sandman' season 2 premiere?
The Sandman season 2 has taken longer than anyone expected; production was paused in June 2023 after just three weeks of filming, due to the Hollywood strikes. After a long wait, filming resumed in November 2023, per Deadline.
At the time, Gaiman shared a note to fans about the news. "This week we officially restart production on the next sequence of stories of The Sandman for Netflix," the author/executive producer shared. "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."
He added, "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.”
While "good things are coming," it may still be a while for episodes to hit Netflix, given the series' balance of VFX and practical effects. For example, the first season began filming in October 2020 and made it to Netflix in August 2022. With that in mind, we may be waiting until at least mid-2025 for season 2.
Who in the cast will return for 'The Sandman' season 2?
Season 1 of The Sandman had a lot going on, with two arcs—Dream's journey to regain his symbols of power, and his mission to contain the vortex/Rose—propelling the sprawling plot. The fantasy falls along the lines of anthologized shows like Doctor Who, where one main protagonist and their companions go from place to place, having mini-adventures that feed into the fight against a main antagonist. Season 1's overall baddie was The Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook), but the story's done with him by the finale, as well as with the Burgess family and Rose and co.
Netflix has confirmed that the returning cast for season 2 will include several residents of The Dreaming, including Vivienne Acheampong (Lucienne), Patton Oswalt (Matthew the Raven), Stephen Fry (Gilbert), Asim Chaudhry (Abel), and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Cain). Also coming back are the gods we've met among the Endless family: Tom Sturridge (Dream), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Death), Mason Alexander Park (Desire), and Donna Preston (Despair). And of course, Gwendoline Christie will be back as season 2's relative antagonist, Lucifer.
As for the supporting characters among the living, several of season 1's characters are either mentioned or pop up again throughout the comics' run. We're already set to get appearances from some standout human cast members, including Jenna Coleman (Johanna Constantine), Ferdinand Kingsley (Hob Galding), Razane Jammal (Lyta Hall), and Vanesu Samunyai (Rose Walker).
Who are the new cast members joining 'The Sandman' season 2?
Viewers unfamiliar with the Gaiman-penned comics should prepare now for an onslaught of characters from the source material to arrive in season 2. As longtime fans know, the Endless and Biblical figures (i.e. Lucifer, Cain, and Abel) aren't the only mythical figures that populate this story. Based on season 2's storyline (more on that below), multiple Greek and Norse gods (and a handful of Shakespeare characters) who appear in Gaiman's comics are set to make their debut, including Hades, Persephone, Orpheus, Eurydice, Thor, Loki, Odin, Auberon, and Titania.
In May 2024, Netflix announced who is set to step into a handful of highly anticipated roles: the Endless siblings, Delirium, Destiny, and "The Prodigal" (who's better known as Destruction in the comics). Hanna star Esmé Creed-Miles will play Delirium; prolific British actor Adrian Lester will portray Destiny; and Barry Sloane, best known for playing Aiden Mathis on the ABC soap Revenge, will play the Prodigal.
The streamer announced even more new cast members in July. According to showrunner Allan Heinberg, the new characters are from the comics' Seasons of the Mist and Brief Lives arcs, and they will "ensnare Dream in a web of palace intrigue, glamour, demon battles, and spider-sex."
Irish actor Ruairi O’Connor, who played Ty Fitzgerald in season 2 of The Morning Show, will play Orpheus, the idealist poet who is the only son of Dream and the muse Calliope. Steve Coogan will voice Barnabas, the cynical "canine companion" of the Prodigal. The Norse gods will also make appearances, with Clive Russell playing the all-powerful Odin, Freddie Fox portraying the god of chaos Loki, and Laurence O’Fuarain playing a very different Thor than the Marvel superhero.
There will also be new faces from the Faerie world this season. Ann Skelly and Douglas Booth will play Nuala and Cluracan, siblings and royal emissaries from the court of Faerie who are opposites. Jack Gleeson, who's best known for playing Joffrey Baratheon on Game of Thrones, will play Puck, a malevolent hobgoblin who enjoys toying with mortals for his amusement.
Rounding out the new cast, Pose star Indya Moore will play Wanda, a "professional driver and security agent for an exclusive travel firm" who "proves herself to be an indispensable guide on an Endless road trip to the waking world." Per Gaiman, the comic character Wanda was the first trans woman in a mainstream comic.
There's been no word yet on whether any of the new characters from the spin-off series Dead Boy Detectives—like George Rexstrew or Jayden Revri who play the leads Edwin and Charles, respectively—will crossover into the original Sandman show, but it's worth keeping an eye out.
What would 'The Sandman' season 2 be about?
Season 1's epic final scene sets up Lucifer Morningstar to be the overall antagonist of season 2. This will take the TV adaptation through the comics' Season of Mists storyline, in which Lucifer leaves Dream to handle the fallout of an unexpected choice. In a Variety interview, Gaiman expressed his excitement over the ruler of Hell and the King of Dreams' rematch.
"I take too much f---ing pleasure in saying to people who do not know anything about what’s coming up in Sandman, 'If we do Season 2, we’re going to be having the rematch and Morpheus is going to be going back to hell. And Lucifer has some surprises in store that Morpheus is not expecting.' And they are all like, 'Ahh!' And I’m like, 'Yeah, and I know how that’s going to work, and you don’t. And everybody who’s ever read Season of Mists knows how that’s going to work and you don’t. But that’s good because not everybody will have read Season of Mists and this is going to be so much fun.”
The story of Dream and his ancient love interest Nada is also a large part of the Season of Mists, and Heinberg confirmed in a Rolling Stone interview that season 2 would include the story of how the two fell in love and how she ended up in Hell. Dream and Nada's relationship was already teased in episode four of season 1, where Nada (Deborah Oyelade) was introduced as the woman in Hell who recognized Dream (played in another form by Ernest Kingsley Jr.), calling him "Kai-ckul." Dream later explains to Matthew the Raven that they used to be in love, and that she was in Hell because she "defied" him.
Season 2 will actually go even beyond the Season of Mists storyline. In an interview with RadioTimes, Gaiman confirmed that season 2 will cover stories from the next three volumes of the comics (Dream Country, Season of Mists, and A Game of You). "Our plans for the second season is the second two graphic novels, which technically, in this case, will be books four and five, with some bits of the short stories in book three scattered among some other stuff," he told the outlet.
This means season 2 may have a similar set-up as season 1, with one overall arc focusing on the Endless and other immortals, with a second focusing on a mortal. A Game of You brings back Barbie (Lily Travers), Rose's blonde friend who seemed to be heading for a divorce from her husband Ken (Richard Fleeshman). The fifth volume sees the divorcée returning to her dreamland (which we saw in season 1) after her animal sidekick Martin Tenbones appears in the waking world. She has to face off against the villain of her dreams, the Cuckoo, with the help of Dream.
What have the cast and crew said about 'The Sandman' season 2?
Both Gaiman and Heinberg have made their intentions for the series clear, saying in several interviews that they have plans for multiple seasons and spin-offs. During the show's London premiere, Heinberg told NME, "We’ve got as many as they’ll let us have. If enough viewers show up, we can go for quite a long while. We want to do all of it, we want a spin-off miniseries. We’d love to make it for as long as they’ll have us."
Heinberg also told Rolling Stone that the show could depict more of the side characters' stories if the show is successful enough to get multiple seasons, pointing out Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) as an interesting character
"In success, we could talk about doing all kinds of things," he told the outlet. "If we’re able to do more standalone anthology issues, then it would take longer than if we were just staying on Dream’s track. And we’d love to do more Johanna Constantine in the present. The Corinthian could return, because he’s not really in the comic again – except for one cameo – until later. So it depends on what people respond to, and how many viewers we have and how much success we have as a Season One show. It could go on for quite some time, if we had the viewers."
Dream himself, Tom Sturridge, has also opened up about what he's looking forward to exploring later in the series, saying that he'd like to explore the Endless' complicated family dynamic.
"I think it would be exciting to have all of the Endless in the same room," the actor told Bustle. "And to see how that family of extraordinary beings interacts with each other."
