Check out the first set pics from Netflix’s The Sandman

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman is easily one of the most beloved comics of all time. Over the years, there have been several failed attempts at adapting it, until Netflix announced in 2019 that they would be the ones brave enough to bring the groundbreaking series to the small screen. While this sounds amazing, many fans can’t help but be a little apprehensive about how faithful the show will be to the sprawling, wildly inventive source material. Thankfully, star Asim Chaudhry was recently on hand to confirm his interpretation of Abel is close to the comics.

Abel — the first victim — is a prominent character in the comics. He lives in the Dreaming, in the House of Secrets. His brother, Cain (Sanjeev Bhaskar) lives in the House of Mysteries next door. The two are locked in an endless cycle of Cain killing Abel over and over again in many brutal ways.

Speaking to Metro, the actor explained how he prepared for the role. “I’m playing [Abel] quite true to what he was, reading some the comics and listening to the audio books, that kind of stuff. Playing it quite sweet but giving my interpretation and just trying to play him as real as possible.”

"Obviously you go into the fantasy world and I’m already quite a big character, so I didn’t want to do too much with him. So I’m trying to play him as real and sweet as possible."

He also listened to the bestselling Sandman audiobook that released last year, where Abel was voiced brilliantly by Kerry Shale.

Chaudhry is an established comedian, which is a good fit since Cain and Abel provide a lot of comic relief throughout the series. Cain is played by Sanjeev Bhaskar, another comedian who Chaudhry has looked up to for many years. “I’m actually just filming at the moment and obviously I can’t say too much but I’ve been working with Sanjeev and I literally grew up watching that guy,” he said. “I love him, and our chemistry is just so good on set, we’ve been laughing our heads off playing these characters.”

I’m sure everyone can’t wait to see these two together! It also helps that Chaudhry looks uncannily like the Abel character as drawn in the comics:

Chaudhry was one of the first seven confirmed cast members announced by Netflix earlier this year. He joins Tom Sturridge (Dream), Charles Dance (Roderick Burgess), Boyd Holbrook (The Corinthian), Vivienne Acheampong (Lucienne), Gwendoline Christie (Lucifer) and Sanjeev Bhaskar. More recently, Stephen Fry revealed that he’s playing Gilbert, although Netflix has yet to formally announce his casting.

First set pics from Netflix’s The Sandman

Production on The Sandman has been ongoing since October 2020. Previously, Neil Gaiman has confirmed the show has filmed iconic issues from the comic, such as 24 Hours. Just the other day, GetSurrey showed off some interesting photos of the set.

Fans instantly began speculating what scene they could be filming. Perhaps it’s somewhere in Hell? Any guesses?

Netflix’s The Sandman still has no release date. No doubt the pandemic has delayed the whole thing. We should expect it sometime in 2022. In the meantime, let’s keep an eye out for more casting announcements. We all want to know who plays Death in particular.

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