Yesterday, Netflix debuted the first official footage from its upcoming television adaptation of Vertigo Comics’ The Sandman. The footage lovingly recreates scenes from the first issue of the original comic book, with a subsequent featurette highlighting just how faithful the first look is to the source material.
On Twitter, the official Netflix Geeked account shared a video featuring side-by-side comparisons between shots from the teaser footage and panels from Sandman #1, which was written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Sam Kieth, with inks by Mike Dringenberg and colors by Robbie Busch. “The first look at Netflix’s The Sandman is almost a perfect shot-by-shot recreation of the first issue of [Neil Gaiman’s] comic,” the caption reads.
Created by Gaiman, Kieth and Dringenberg, The Sandman originally launched under DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint on Dec. 1, 1988. Kieth departed the title after issue #5, with Dringenberg taking over as penciler and Malcolm Jones III taking over as inker.
The comic’s first story arc, Preludes & Nocturnes, revolves around Dream of the Endless (aka Morpheus), the anthropomorphic personification of dreams, who is captured by an occult ritual conducted by the Order of Ancient Mysteries in the year 1916 and held prisoner for just over 70 years, finally breaking free in 1988.
Upon his escape, Dream takes revenge on his captors and begins to rebuild his kingdom, which has all but crumbled in his absence. Last summer, Gaiman confirmed that Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman would take place in the year 2021, meaning that, in the world of the show, Dream was held captive not for 70 years, but 105 years.
The Sandman ran for a total of 75 issues, concluding in March 1996. It was succeeded by The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, which ran for four issues in 1999, and The Sandman: Overture, which ran for six issues from 2013 to 2015. The title has also spawned a number of spinoffs, including comics starring Dream’s sister, Death of the Endless, as well as 75-issue solo series starring the character of Lucifer Morningstar. Lucifer, a TV series based on Vertigo’s version of the Devil, starred Tom Ellis in the lead role ran on Fox for three seasons before being picked up by Netflix for another three.
Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of The Sandman stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, as well as Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine and Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, among many others.
Netflix’s The Sandman does not have an official premiere date, though is expected to arrive sometime in 2022.
Source: Twitter
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