Tom Sturridge in talks to star as Dream in Netflix’s The Sandman

According to Neil Gaiman, Netflix is set to start shooting The Sandman in just a few weeks, and it sounds like they’ve found their leading man:

Ever since I learned that Netflix would be adapting Neil Gaiman’s seminal comic The Sandman as a live-action TV show, I’ve been excited. The Sandman is about the Endless, a group of immortal beings who are also personifications of aspects of the human condition. Our main character is Dream, a morose, romantic member of the Endless who takes his job as the Lord of Dreams very seriously. His story is strange, dense, beautiful and unpredictable, and I can’t wait to see it brought to life.

And we’re finally getting closer. Just the other day, Gaiman revealed that shooting was set to begin in a few weeks. And now, Collider has it that Netflix is in talks to cast English actor Tom Sturridge as Dream.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 28: Tom Sturridge attends the Los Angeles premiere screening of “Velvet Buzzsaw” at American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre on January 28, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Sturridge has a healthy resume, appearing in movies like Vanity Fair, Velvet Buzzsaw and playing Lord Byron in 2017’s Mary Shelley. And if there’s one literary figure who resembles Dream, it’s Lord Byron, who had a preoccupation with love, mystery and tragedy.

Plus, almost every picture of I’ve seen of Sturridge has him looking dour and glum, so he’s got that part of Dream’s personality down.

Admittedly, there are some eyebrow-raising aspects to this news. For instance, is it strange that the show is due to start shooting in three weeks but Netflix is only “in talks” with Sturridge? You’d figure they would have nailed down such an important casting decision further out. Plus, Collider says that Sturridge emerged victorious from a casting battle that also included Tom York (Poldark) and Colin Morgan (Merlin), which makes it sound like he definitely has the role…but he’s still just “in talks” to star?

Hopefully the details will firm up soon. In the meantime, I think Sturridge looks like a good choice, although I forever think Adam Driver was destined for the role:

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