The Sandman star Asim Chaudhry teases the show’s “insane” scale
By Ashley Hurst
Fans of Neil Gaiman’s seminal comic book The Sandman have been waiting over 30 years for an screen adaptation, and things are finally starting to feel very real. A Netflix show has been in production since October 2020, with an enormous cast of stars in place. One of the most vocal actors is Asim Chaudhry, who recently told the Radio Times just how “insane” the scale of the production is.
First, if you’re not familiar with The Sandman comics, Asim Chaudhry plays Abel, the same one from the biblical Book of Genesis. Sanjeev Bhaskar plays his brother Cain. In the comics, they both live in the Dreaming, which is presided over by the titular character. The brothers have a…complicated relationship, with Cain killing Abel over and over again. It’s quite brutal, but at the same time, the two serve as very dark comic relief.
“I play Abel and it’s just such a great character to play,” Chaudhry said. “You know, he’s definitely got kind of comedic kind of tones to him. But there’s a lot of kind of sadness to the character – you know, the fact that he gets killed all the time by his brother.”
We’re yet to see Cain and Abel in costume, or even get a peek at The Dreaming. But a few weeks back, Netflix dropped a behind-the-scenes video as part of its “Geeked Week” event. Neil Gaiman’s upon seeing the set by production designer Jon Gary Steele says it all: “Holy s**t.”
As a key resident of The Dreaming, Asim Chaudhry has spent a lot of time on these glorious sets, and he’s very impressed: “It’s really amazing. The scale of [the show] is just insane, you know what I mean? It feels like a proper show. It feels like a big, big Netflix show. It’s [an] honour to be part of it, so I’m really excited.”
In addition, Chaudhr reassures fans that are worried the show will deviate massively from the source material. The star says Gaiman is “so involved with everything,” adding that he’s “really essential to keep the quality control up, because obviously it’s his vision. It’s his baby. But yeah, he’s been amazing.”
The Sandman films “The Sound of Her Wings”?
Recently, we saw a video of Tom Sturridge walking around The Sandman set in costume as lead character Dream of the Endless. Now there are more videos cropping up, including one that shows some filming going on in Richmond Green in London. Richmond.nub confirmed that the shoot was for The Sandman, although we don’t have many details. Take a look at the short clip.
Perhaps it’s for The Sound of Her Wings, the famous issue of The Sandman that introduces us to Dream’s brother Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste)? As always, we’ll have to wait and see.
As you can see, The Sandman is still in production. It’s highly unlikely that it will release later this year, but next year we should all be able to enter The Dreaming ourselves!
Next. A Beginner’s Guide to Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. dark
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels