The Sandman movie adaption has long been a popular fantasy among fans, and at DC FanDome, Netflix debuted the first look at its official cast for the upcoming The Sandman Netflix series, which stars Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, the mysterious Lord of all Hell. At Netflix's own Tudum event, a first look at Tom Sturridge as Dream, the series' central character, was unveiled.
There was a lengthy road to adapting Neil Gaiman's iconic DC Comics book The Sandman, which featured the cream of the crop of comics artists from the late 1980s and early 1990s. "The most expensive TV series DC Entertainment has ever done," is how the press describes the show. For television audiences, Christie's character may be best known as Tom Ellis' Lucifer persona, which is also (loosely) based on Sandman and sees Lucifer operate a nightclub to spite the Allmighty. As the titular Sandman aka Dream, Christie joins Sturridge, Mason Alexander Park, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and other cast members like Jenna Coleman from Doctor Who, David Thewlis from Harry Potter, Stephen Fry from V for Vendetta, and Pat Oswalt from South Park (MODOK). There is no set release date for Sandman.
In contrast, Christie's portrayal appears to be considerably closer to the character's original appearance in The Sandman, which depicted him as a laconic, shaggy-headed fallen angel with large, black, membrane-like wings, similar to David Bowie's.