Neil Gaiman’s DC comic book series is finally getting an adaptation, and Boyd will play “an escaped nightmare who wishes to taste all that the world has in store.” More below:

It seems like forever, but the wait is about to an end. The anticipated Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s popular comic book series The Sandman is coming together. Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry and Sanjeev Bhaskar have been set to star in the dark fantasy series based on the DC comics.

The cast also features Eastenders alum and recent Order of the British Empire recipient Nina Wadia as The Mother, one of the three Fates in the comics who are beyond the control of the title character AKA the Dream King.

The series is described as 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 tries to fix all the cosmic and human mistakes he’s made during his vast existence.

Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman, Grey’s Anatomy) will serve as showrunner and executive producer alongside Gaiman and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Terminator: Dark Fate, Foundation). Gaiman, Goyer and Heinberg are also co-writers on the project.

“For the last 33 years, the Sandman characters have breathed and walked around and talked in my head. I’m unbelievably happy that now, finally, they get to step out of my head and into reality,” Gaiman said in a statement. “I can’t wait until the people out there get to see what we’ve been seeing as Dream and the rest of them take flesh, and the flesh belongs to some of the finest actors out there.”

He added, “This is astonishing, and I’m so grateful to the actors and to all of The Sandman collaborators — Netflix, Warner Bros., DC, to Allan Heinberg and David Goyer, and the legions of crafters and geniuses on the show — for making the wildest of all my dreams into reality.”

The Sandman adds to Gaiman’s list of fantasy series based on his work, which includes Amazon’s Good Omens, Starz’s American Gods and Lucifer, which now streams on Netflix.

Here are the character descriptions:

• Tom Sturridge is Dream, Lord of Dreaming
• Gwendoline Christie is Lucifer, Ruler of Hell
• Vivienne Acheampong is Lucienne, chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream’s realm
• Boyd Holbrook is The Corinthian, an escaped nightmare who wishes to taste all that the world has in store
• Charles Dance is Roderick Burgess, Charlatan, blackmailer and magician
• Asim Chaudry is Abel and Sanjeev Bhaskar is Cain, the first victim and the first predator, residents and loyal subjects of the Dream Realm

An adaptation of The Sandman has been gestating for some time. Initially, it was set to be a feature film directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He ended up stepping down after creative differences. Gaiman and Goyer were also involved in the film adaptation.

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