The Sandman showrunner addresses Superman references in the Netflix show and reveals a Batman cameo was "briefly" discussed for the finale: "Does Robert Pattinson want to come to the funeral?"

Following the release of The Sandman season 2, the show's creator, Allan Heinberg, has just revealed he considered including a Batman cameo in the final episode. In case you didn't know, Neil Gaiman's comic is set within the main DC universe, with some major superheroes occasionally making an appearance.

"We talked about, 'Does Robert Pattinson want to come to the funeral?' Briefly, we did discuss that, but only briefly," said Heinberg (via Comic Book Movie).

It's unlikely that this 'crossover' could have happened on screen, but fans can still go back to the comics if they want a taste of what could have been. On the page, Batman shows up at Morpheus' funeral along with many other recognizable characters, from Martian Manhunter and Lucifer to Clark Kent.

With James Gunn's Superman landing in cinemas at the same time as The Sandman's finale, the showrunner also addressed the many Superman references that can be spotted, particularly in the bonus episode Death: The High Cost of Living, released on July 31.

Heinberg said that he doesn't "even know if James Gunn watches the show", but he hopes so. "It was that I tried to work in as many DC references as I can," he said.

"It was one of those things where Colin (Morgan) really wanted to show the, not arrested side of Sexton, but playful side of Sexton. That this is somebody who actually, prior to this moment, has a lot of joy and a lot of idealism and he's trying to be out there and, as a climate emergency reporter for The Guardian, he's trying to be a superhero. And he's feeling like he's failing every time he turns around," Heinberg explained.

"So because we meet him at such a low point," he continued, "we wanted to really show the audience, this is not someone who's usually like this, this is someone with big ideals and big dreams and who wants to be a hero. And Superman is the cleanest. And I've been putting DC Comics stuff into everything I've written for as long as I can remember. So it was a very natural thing to go to Superman."

With the bonus episode now available to watch on streaming, The Sandman has officially wrapped on Netflix after two seasons. For more, check out our list of the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies to stream right now.