The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman reveals which scene in the Netflix series adaptation made him cry. Gaiman created The Sandman for DC Comics, running for 75 issues from 1989 to 1996. The story focuses on Morpheus, the titular Sandman aka Dream, who is captured and held prisoner for 106 years before making his escape and returning to his kingdom of the Dreaming, which is now in disarray. The show stars Tom Sturridge as Morpheus/Dream, Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, Patton Oswalt as Matthew the Raven, Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, David Thewlis as John Dee, and several others.
The Sandman has gone through multiple attempts at a live-action adaptation but has finally come to fruition at Netflix thanks to Gaiman, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg. Previously, a film adaptation of The Sandman directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt was in development, but creative differences led to the shift to television, expanding the story far beyond the two-hour time frame of a feature film. The first full trailer for The Sandman debuted at Comic-Con, giving viewers a substantial glimpse of the show, which looks to be a faithful rendition of Gaiman's original work.
Gaiman is heavily involved in The Sandman series, serving as an executive producer and writer, and the author has shared a clip from the show that he says made him cry the first time he saw it. He champions the casting of Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death (the older sister of Dream) in his post, saying that the scene is evidence of why he cast her in the role. Take a look at Gaiman's comment below:
While The Sandman will likely be full of many moving scenes, it makes sense this one stood out to Gaiman. It highlights what looks to be a subtle performance by Howell-Baptiste, which works well in this particular moment and likely the show at large. It's clear from comments made by the cast and creative team that Gaiman helped guide and inspire The Sandman on a daily basis, so it makes sense he played a role in finding the perfect performer to take on a major character like Death.
While there's been some casting controversy for The Sandman, it ultimately bears the stamp of approval from the creator himself, so it's hard to argue over any of those choices. With so many members of the cast, especially Sturridge, being massive fans of the comic, it helps lend an air of approval in terms of the creative direction of the series, which looks to be ripped straight from the DC comic's pages. Anticipation is high for the long-in-development series, but so far it appears that Gaiman's original vision is perfectly intact, following the lineage of the books with love and respect and giving viewers a reason to check out The Sandman when it debuts on August 5.
Source: Neil Gaiman