The Sandman is currently filming its 24-Hour nightmare diner episode

Few comics come as disturbing and terrifying as The Sandman Issue #6 “24 Hours,” by Neil Gaiman and artist Mike Dringenberg. Released in 1989, the well-known issue has haunted comic readers for decades and has a continuing legacy as one of the best horror comics out there. In fact, last year it was adapted in Audible’s Sandman audiobook, and it proved to be even scarier than ever. There have even been fan films made of it over the years:

Soon enough, Netflix will bring the 24-hour nightmare to live-action, with Gaiman recently revealing that the issue currently filming. On Tumblr, a fan asked Gaiman, “Will there ever be a Sandman TV series, animated or otherwise?” His answer was simply, “We are shooting the Diner episode this week.”

Okay, so we’re making the assumption that the “diner” episode is “24 Hours,” since it’s one of the best-known issues from the series, it’s set in a diner, and it comes early in the series. Assumption seems pretty solid.

Taking place over a single day, “24 hours” chronicles the nightmarish events that occur in an American diner. It begins when John Dee (Doctor Destiny) enters a quiet diner and begins to manipulate everyone’s dreams using one of Morpheus’ three totems of power, the Dreamstone.  As each hour passes, things gradually get crazier, weirder and more unsettling. The whole issue is one giant nightmare that grabs you and doesn’t let go, while also maintaining a sense of claustrophobia.

There actually has been a live-action adaptation of this issue before: “24 Hour Diner,” a fan film published in 2017. As fan films go, it’s pretty good! The 32-minute long film perfectly captures the nature of the comic and serves as a possible indication of what we can expect from the upcoming Netflix series. Watch it here, but be warned: since it’s adapting a twisted comic, it’s age-restricted on YouTube!

Taron Egerton joins the cast of The Sandman as John Constantine?

The Sandman on Netflix has been filming for awhile. So far, things seem to be going rather smoothly, considering how hard the industry has been hit in recent times. A full cast has not been announced yet, but we’re getting some more names connected to the show. Specifically, it appears as if Tom Sturridge could be playing Dream, the main character. At the moment, the only confirmed cast member is Game of Thrones‘ veteran Gwendoline Christie, in an unknown role.

And this week, Deadline reported that Rocketman and Kingsman star Taron Egerton — who played John Constantine in the Sandman audiobook — is “attached” to the series. He’d be a brilliant addition to the cast if he is involved. I thought he was great as John Constantine in the audiobook. He executed Constantine’s scouse accent wonderfully.

Netflix has not set a premiere date for The Sandman yet. However, as filming continues and more cast members are confirmed, it might not be too long before we get a deeper look at the show.

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