After what seems like an eternity in limbo, Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel The Sandman has finally debuted a new teaser. The crowning moment of the first day of Netflix’s Geeked Week 2022, the teaser gives us a great look at Tom Sturridge as Dream, a.k.a. Morpheus, a.k.a. The King of Dreams. And not only do we see him, he looks exactly like he does in the comics. It’s definitely only a teaser, but we won’t have too long to wait. The series will debut on Netflix on August 5.
Sturridge looks perfect, but he’s certainly not the only big character we see in the teaser. We get to see a brief shot of Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Morpheus’ kinder sister. I mean, yes, she’s the actual Grim Reaper, but she’s nice. Howell-Baptiste herself describes Death as “someone you’d like to have a beer with,” which is always the sign of a good Death.
We also see Lucienne the Librarian played by Vivienne Acheampong, looking perfectly studious. We get a few glimpses of the sprawling vistas of the the Dreaming, the mystical realm which Morpheus rules, plus a shot of Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer looking absolutely divine. Boyd Holbrook’s Corinthian with his bleeding eyes finishes us up.
Interestingly, the character who gets the most screen time in the teaser is Johanna Constantine, played by Jenna Coleman. Johanna is an ancestor of John Constantine, and similarly an occult detective. She’ll play both the character in 2021 and her own ancestor in the 18th Century. After seeing Coleman’s Clara Oswald try to become the Doctor during her time on Doctor Who, it’s outstanding to see her get to step into a similar, if gruffer role.
The cast for this show is truly massive and this teaser only shows us a few. But with a 12-episode run, they have plenty of Dream’s world, and his weird family, the Endless, to explore. August 5 can’t get here soon enough!
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.