Confirmation at last: The Sandman will be coming back to our screens. Netflix and Neil Gaiman confirmed late Wednesday that the streamer has ordered more episodes of the fantasy drama adapting Gaiman’s classic comic.
Gaiman announced the news on Twitter with a short teaser video showing Morpheus’ iconic mask emerging from a blanket of sand. “The rumours are true,” he wrote. “Netflix is thrilled that so many of you have been watching Sandman, and the thing we were all hoping would happen… has indeed happened…”
The rumours are true. Netflix is thrilled that so many of you have been watching Sandman, and the thing we were all hoping would happen… has indeed happened… pic.twitter.com/zc5CrhsdZK
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) November 3, 2022
There’s no news of when the second season will be released, nor how many episodes it will have. Notably, neither the press release sent to media nor the story on Netflix’s official news organ Tudum use the word season at any point, only promising “more episodes.” It’s possible a shorter season has been ordered, or a longer one — or indeed that this decision hasn’t been made yet.
Plot details are similarly under wraps, although “stories to be adapted from multiple The Sandman graphic novels” are promised. The key creative team of Allan Heinberg, David S. Goyer and Gaiman remains in place. In a statement, Gaiman said:
Millions upon millions of people have welcomed and watched and loved The Sandman on Netflix, from established Sandman fans to people who were simply curious, and then became obsessed with the Lord of Dreams, his family and their goings-on. It gives me unbelievable pleasure to say that, working with Netflix and Warner Bros., Allan Heinberg, David Goyer and I will be bringing even more of The Sandman stories to life. There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them (not to mention more members of the Endless Family to meet). Nobody is going to be happier about this than the Sandman cast and crew: they are the biggest Sandman fans there are. And now it’s time to get back to work. There’s a family meal ahead, after all. And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell…
“And now we get to meet the rest of the Endless!” Goyer added.
It’s been three months since The Sandman had its Netflix debut, and the wait for news of a second season has been an anxious one. (Although it’s fair to note that, had Netflix released one episode of the show each week rather than the whole thing at once, it would only recently have concluded.) As Netflix’s growth slows and it tightens its production purse-strings, there was concern that, with a reported budget of $15 million per episode, The Sandman might be too expensive to continue.
However, it seems a deal has been struck. And that’s great news, because The Sandman has emerged from decades of development hell as the best adaptation we could ask for.