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The Sandman co-showrunner Allan Heinberg says that although they tried to pack as many big moments as possible from the comic books into the show's two-season run, some just didn't make the cut.
"We try to preserve as many of the comic book moments as possible and translate them in a way that feels like we're fulfilling fan fantasies of what that would look like on film," Heinberg says in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on the cover and hits newsstands on Wednesday, June 18. "But also the show dictates what works and what doesn't and what's moving the story forward for Dream at all times.
"There have been plenty of times where I've actually tried to include too much from the comics: we film it, and you see it in the context of the cut and of the story, and you realise, 'Yeah, nobody's going to understand this.' So there have been casualties already. But again, it's bonus content for the website, and also the fans will love it because they can't say we didn't try!"
Despite the aforementioned cuts, the second season will adapt a number of important moments from the comic, including the A Midsummer Night’s Dream sequence – where Dream tries to heal the relationship between the dream world and the Faerie world. The series finale is also titled, "Death: The High Cost of Living," which is the title of a compilation book featuring every significant Death sequence from the comics.
The adaptation of the DC comic premiered on Netflix back in August 2022 and was watched for a record 69.5 million hours in just the first week, before doubling that record the following week for a whopping 127.5m. Despite cancellation rumors, the streamer renewed the series for a second season in November 2022,. Production on season 2 began in June of 2023 before things were put on pause due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
It was announced back in January that the series would end after season 2, with showrunner Heinberg explaining that they only had enough material for one more season. The season 2 cast includes Dream (Tom Sturridge), Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Despair (Donna Preston), along with newcomers Delirium (Esmé Creed-Miles), Destiny (Adrian Lester), Orpheus (Ruairi O'Connor), Loki (Freddie Fox), Odin (Clive Russell), and Thor (Laurence O'Fuarain).
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The Sandman season 2 Volume 1 hits Netflix on July 3, with Volume 2 arriving on July 24. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which will be available from Wednesday, June 18. Here's the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cover you need to be looking out for on newsstands below...
