In January, Netflix whet the appetites of Sandman fans with some exciting casting announcements for its developing Neil Gaiman adaptation. We got our Dream/Morpheus/Oneiros in Tom Sturridge; our Lucifer in Gwendoline Christie; our Roderick Burgess in Charles Dance. Yes, things got more exciting by the name. And now, we have a whole new batch of Sandman characters accounted for. Netflix has revealed the stars who’ll bring Death, Desire, Despair, and many more, to life!
First, Dream’s siblings. In the role of sensible sister Death: Killing Eve and The Good Place’s Kirby Howell-Baptiste. As the spiritually seductive Desire: Mason Alexander Park, known primarily for theater work to date. And as the emotionally fraught Despair: Donna Preston of The Hitman’s Bodyguard.
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of this new casting. Netflix has also announced Doctor Who vet Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, the 18th century’s enterprising adventurer. Next, we have mother and son Ethel Cripps and John Dee, a.k.a. Doctor Destiny. In these roles, we find Nip/Tuck’s Joely Richardson and Harry Potter and Wonder Woman’s David Thewlis.
Netflix
These characters help us bridge the gap to the second Sandman story, “The Doll’s House.” Netflix’s production on this arc is underway with more stars yet. At the center of this story, we’ll see Kyo Ra as Rose Walker, a young woman braving new terra to find her lost brother; Razane Jammal as Rose’s friend, and young widow, Lyta Hall; and Sandra James Young, as Unity Kincaid, the mysterious (and longtime comatose) figure who funds Rose’s journey.
It’s exciting to see Netflix’s Sandman production packing its cast with fresh young stars. However, it’s also a good deal of fun to welcome seasoned vets like Stephen Fry and Patton Oswalt. Fry will play Gilbert, who looks out for Rose on her journeys; Oswalt will voice Matthew, Dream’s emissary raven.
As we also know from the previous announcement: Boyd Holbrook will play the Corinthian; Vivienne Acheampong will play Lucienne; and Sanjeev Bhaskar and Amid Chaudry will play Cain and Abel. Now that the (nearly) full cast has taken shape, we’re more excited than ever for this new take on The Sandman.
Featured Image: DC Comics