The Sandman just gave fans their first glimpse at the Netflix adaptation’s live-action recreation of Death’s iconic debut.
The image was shared by the show’s official Twitter account and features Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) walking through the streets with her brother Morpheus (Tom Sturridge). Those familiar with the original comic book series will immediately recognize this as a scene from Sandman #8, “The Sound of Her Wings,” by Neil Gaiman, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III. “The Sound of Her Wings” introduced fan-favorite character Death to the Sandman canon, with Morpheus accompanying his big sister as she chaperones human souls to the afterlife. The story is set in New York City, however, background details indicate that its small screen counterpart takes place in London, instead.
Death also features in the long-awaited Sandman teaser trailer, which dropped on June 6. Sturridge’s Dream of the Endless was the real star of the teaser, which appeared to confirm previous reports that Season 1 will closely follow the plot of the comic’s first volume, Preludes & Nocturnes. The new footage also prominently featured Jenna Coleman’s Joanna Constantine and Boyd Holbrook’s nightmarish villain The Corinthian. Coleman will portray Lady Johanna Constantine, Joanna’s 18th Century ancestor, as well.
Following the release of the trailer, Netflix circulated new character posters spotlighting Joanna Constantine and The Corinthian. Unlike The Corinthian, Constantine’s gender has been changed for the show, something that Sandman co-creator Neil Gaiman previously addressed. “The rights situation with John [Constantine] is certainly circumscribed right now. But the plan to have Lady Johanna and Joanna be in the story and played by the same person was there from the start. It seemed tidier. So it worked out,” he tweeted.
Netflix also announced that Star Wars veteran Mark Hamill will voice Merv Pumpkinhead, a beloved character from the comics not shown in the teaser trailer. An immortal being created by Morpheus, Merv Pumpkinhead is the grouchy janitor who maintains Morpheus’ kingdom, The Dreaming. As his name suggests, he has a jack-o’-lantern-style pumpkin for a head, although this is substituted for a turnip during one flashback sequence. Despite Merv’s wise-talking demeanor, he serves his master loyally throughout The Sandman‘s original 75-issue run.
While Hamill’s casting appears to have been well received, some fans remain disappointed that Gwendoline Christie will play Lucifer instead of Tom Ellis. Ellis previously portrayed the Lord of Hell in the Sandman-inspired Netflix series Lucifier, but according to Gaiman, this version of the character wasn’t a good fit for the new show. “[Ellis’] Lucifer, while inspired by the Lucifer in Sandman, is so far away in terms of Sandman continuity by the end of [Lucifer], that it’s easier on everyone to go back to the version in the comics. And this way you don’t know what our Lucifer is going to do,” he tweeted.
The Sandman premieres on Netflix on August 5.
Source: Twitter