Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman has added additional cast members to handle characters including Death, Desire, and Despair. Among those joining the cast are Patton Oswalt, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, and Jenna Coleman.
Niamh Walsh, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Kyo Ra, Stephen Fry, Razane Jammal, and Sandra James Young have also boarded the Netflix series.
Neil Gaiman, who’s involved as an executive producer and co-writer, penned a lengthy blog post about the new cast members, describing the characters they’ll be playing. (View the full blog entry here.) Gaiman’s been watching the dailies and completed episodes and says, “The Sandman is being made, and it’s… well, it’s The Sandman. Which is the best thing of all.”
The just-announced cast join Tom Sturridge as Dream of the Endless, Gwendolyn Christie as Lucifer, Sanjeev Bhaskar as Cain, and Amid Chaudry as Abel. Charles Dance is playing Roderick Burgess, Vivienne Acheampong is Lucienne, and Boyd Holbrook plays The Corinthian.
Netflix provided the following info on who each new cast member will be playing:
• KIRBY HOWELL-BAPTISTE (she/her) is DEATH, Dream’s wiser sister.
• MASON ALEXANDER PARK (they/them) is DESIRE, Dream’s sibling, and desire personified.
• DONNA PRESTON (she/her) is DESPAIR, Dream’s sister, and the twin of Desire.
• JENNA COLEMAN (she/her) is JOHANNA CONSTANTINE, haunted exorcist and Occult Adventuress for Hire.
• NIAMH WALSH (she/her) is YOUNG ETHEL CRIPPS, a betrayed and determined young woman seeking to survive.
• JOELY RICHARDSON (she/her) is ETHEL CRIPPS, Master thief and woman of a thousand identities.
• DAVID THEWLIS (he/him) is JOHN DEE, Ethel’s son. Dangerous, insane and on a quest for truth.
• KYO RA (she/her) is ROSE WALKER, A young woman on a desperate search for her missing brother. She discovers a connection to Dream that neither of them can escape.
• STEPHEN FRY (he/him) is GILBERT, Debonair protector of Rose Walker.
• RAZANE JAMMAL (she/her) is LYTA HALL, Rose’s best friend and travel companion.
• SANDRA JAMES YOUNG (she/her) is UNITY KINCAID, Heiress and mysterious benefactor.
• PATTON OSWALT (he/him) to voice MATTHEW THE RAVEN, Dream’s trusted emissary. A Raven.
David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) and Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman) are co-writers and serve as executive producers. In addition, Heinberg is the series’ showrunner.
The Sandman is a Warner Bros. Television production.
The Plot:
A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, The Sandman follows the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic — and human — mistakes he’s made during his vast existence.
