Netflix finally unveils The Sandman's teaser and premiere date

Get ready, hellraisers, because we are finally getting a glimpse at Netflix’s highly anticipated fantasy drama The Sandman. As part of its busy Geeked Week, the streaming platform released a brief teaser and announced the show’s premiere date. It is developed by Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg (who is also the series showrunner) and is based on Gaiman’s 1989-1996 comic books of the same name.

The show follows the King of Dreams a.k.a. Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), who is the ruler of Dreaming and one of the seven Endless—the others are Death, Delirium, Desire, Despair, Destiny, Destruction, in case you were wondering. In 1916, Morpheus is captured during an occult ritual and held captive for 105 years. Once he escapes, he sets out to restore order to his kingdom.

As seen in the quick teaser, he returns to a now-crumbling and destitute palace and can barely recognize his own home. He gets some assistance from his librarian, Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong). It also looks like none of his siblings appear happy that Morpheus is free once more. Meanwhile, Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) is warned of his return, but she still believes the Endless is just a fairytale. Yes, in case the last name didn’t give it away already, Johanna is an ancestor of John Constantine and is an occult detective herself.

The Sandman is described as a blend of contemporary fiction, historical drama, and dark fantasy. It also features a new iteration of Lucifer—no, not the Tom Ellis one as Gwendoline Christie takes over the role here. (although Lucifer is streaming on Netflix as well and is extremely fun). The stacked cast also includes David Thewlis, Charles Dance, Boyd Holbrook, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander, Asim Chaudhry, Donna Preston, Stephen Fry, Patton Oswalt, Joely Richards, and Kyo Ra.

The Sandman’s first season consists of 11 episodes. It will premiere on Netflix on August 5.