Everything To Know About The Sandman Season 2

Spoilers for The Sandman Season 1 ahead. Once thought unfilmable, The Sandman has finally made its way to screens. The latest Netflix series is the long-awaited TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved Sandman odyssey. The story, which sprawls across 75 volumes, follows Morpheus, aka Dream (Tom Sturridge), as he attempts to rebuild his power and kingdom after being imprisoned by humans for nearly a century. The first season is a genre-bending spectacle that ties Morpheus’ efforts to regain his abilities with his journey to uncover his sense of humanity with the help of other powerful beings and humans.

Though the story may be vast and at times esoteric, Netflix brings Gaiman’s work to life, thanks to the author himself. The first season tackles the events of the first two volumes, but with so much source material left over, will fans get even more Sandman in the future? “We’ve shot footage in Season 1 that we would need if we ever get to Season 5. It’s there, and it’s stored,” Gaiman tells Bustle. “We know how we would do the entire Sandman storyline up to and including the last one, Sandman Overture.”

As of the show’s Aug. 5 debut, Netflix has not renewed The Sandman for a second season. But considering Gaiman and showrunner Allan Heinberg have plans for five seasons (at least), it offers a glimmer of hope that the TV adaptation might get to tell another chapter of Sandman’s journey — and possibly others beyond him. “We hope to tell the whole story,” Heinberg tells Bustle. “The Sandman could go on forever. There is no limit of stories in the Dreaming.”

The Sandman Season 2 Potential Premiere Date

Until The Sandman Season 2 gets the green light, it’s hard to say when exactly it will return. The show is an ambitious production, balancing computer-generated and practical effects to create its fantastical worlds. “We chose to let our VFX embellish and enhance the practical aspects of our production,” Heinberg says. “We thought it would produce a better and more grounded show with better performances if we put our actors in real locations and gave them other people to interact with.” So, if the show returns for Season 2, don’t expect the quickest turnaround.

Season 1 started filming until October 2020, and just over 18 months later, the show made its Aug. 5 debut on Netflix. If the show receives a renewal order soon after its premiere, fans may get to see Season 2 as early as late 2023.

The Sandman Season 2 Plot

Season 1’s cliffhanger ending, courtesy of Gwendoline Christie’s Lucifer, is not one to overlook. Just before the credits rolled on Episode 10, Lucifer confirmed her plans to bring down Morpheus, which means we’re in for a deity-filled clash in Season 2. It comes on the heels of Morpheus’ dramatic transformation into a less temperamental god, who is excited about the new age before him.

The following chapters will likely explore how Lucifer and others will test Morpheus’s new (and improved) attitude. “I think it would be exciting to have all of the Endless in the same room,” Tom Sturridge tells Bustle. “And to see how that family of extraordinary beings interacts with each other.”

The first season introduced several members of the Endless, namely Dream, Death, and Desire. However, Season 2 may give all of them time to shine. Throughout the vast expanse of The Sandman lore, there’ve been many occasions in which the Endless have convened. Destiny, Death, Desire, Dream, Despair, Delirium, and Destruction have butted heads in one form or another over their comic runs. It’s a safe bet that we’ll see some of their comic clashes in future seasons if they arrive.

The Sandman Season 2 Cast

Like many high-stakes fantasy stories, there is little guarantee that characters may last a whole season or even make it to the next. But given what happens in the Season 1 finale, we can expect Tom Sturridge and Gwendoline Christie to return for Season 2 as Morpheus and Lucifer, respectively. The rest of the supporting cast likely to return include Patton Oswalt as Matthew the Crow, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, Razane Jammal as Lyta Hall, and Vanesu Samunyai as Rose Walker. It wouldn’t be entirely farfetched to expect Jenna Coleman back as Constantine or even some appearances from David Thewlis or Charles Dance as John Dee or Roderick Burgess in flashbacks.

As for Boyd Holbrook’s character, The Corinthian, Heinberg says, “We’d love to do a Death miniseries, a Corinthian miniseries, and the Dreaming miniseries.” That means the villain, among others, could return sometime in the future.

Finally, the actors who portray the Endless will likely come back for Season 2, including Desire (Mason Alexander Park) and Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). We even briefly met Despair (Donna Preston); however, we have yet to meet Destruction, Delirium, or Destruction, all of whom should pop up in some form or another in Season 2. Also, with Lucifer planning an invasion, look for new hellish characters to arrive if The Sandman returns.

This post will be updated as more details about The Sandman Season 2 are revealed.