Netflix casts Sandman’s Death, Desire, and Constantine, reveals Patton Oswalt, David Thewlis characters

It appears that Netflix’s episodic adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s seminal comics series, The Sandman, might actually be happening. After years of false starts and rumors and questions of how the hell you plan to make this thing, the streamer announced a round of cast members for the show. And before you ask, yes, David Thewlis is included in the list, as he should be.

Aside from the titular man of sand, Netflix unveiled an exciting group of supporting performers for the show. These include The Good Place’s Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Broadway star Mason Alexander Park as Desire, and Patton Oswalt as the voice of Dream’s Raven Matthew.

Based on the cast, and according to a blogpost by Gaiman, the series will follow part two of the Sandman library, “The Doll’s House,” which sees Dream, the lord of the dreams and stories, searching our world for four of his creations. However, some of the characters also come from the first collection, “Preludes & Nocturnes,” so expect some flashbacks or, perhaps, a mashup of the first two books. From “Doll’s House” comes the characters Rose Walker, who Kyo Ra will play, and John Constantine’s great-great-great-grandmother Johanna, played by Jenna Coleman.

Also included in the lineup were the always welcomed Stephen Fry and the aforementioned David Thewlis, who will play Gilbert and John Dee, respectively. The rest of the cast includes Donna Preston as Despair, Razane Jammal as Lyta Hall, Joely Richardson as Ethel Cripps, Niamh Walsh as Young Ethel Cripps, and Sandra James Young as Unity Kincaid.

Netflix already cast two of the show’s biggest names, Dream and Lucifer Game Of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie was cast as Lucifer and Tom Sturridge as Morpheus aka Dream.

Summarizing what Sandman is a little challenging to do in a few words, so we’ll just let Mr. Gaiman sum it up. He writes:

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.

Sandman is one of those “unfilmable” undertakings that no one can believe is real until they see it. Adaptations of Sandman tend to feel a bit like a dream. You wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Your partner asks, “Everything ok, honey.” “I just dreamed that *heavy breathing* Joseph Gordon-Levitt is writing, directing, and starring in a *gulp* Sandman movie. Can that be?” It was for a little while, but after dropping out, the property languished a bit before Netflix picked it up. But this is the closest we’ve come, well, ever. So maybe Netflix is about to make our dreams come true (And the door’s over there? We’ll see ourselves out).