The Sandman showrunner promises “really ambitious” season 2 (if it’s renewed)

It’s now been over 60 days since The Sandman premiered on Netflix, and in that time it’s had glowing reviews and become the number one most in-demand TV show on the planet. It doesn’t get much better than that, so where’s our second season, Netflix?

Usually it doesn’t take this long for Netflix to cast judgement on its shows, deciding whether to allow them to continue or not. But things have fallen pretty silent. Normally no news is considered good news, although I’m not sure how well it applies to this situation.

As always, the fans are making their voices heard. Look no further than Twitter, where #RenewSandman trends regularly, and where Sandman comic creator Neil Gaiman gets flooded with endless messages about a renewal.

When Entertainment Weekly asked showrunner Allan Heinberg what fans can expect from a new season, he affirmed that should the series get renewed, season 2 will be even more ambitious, tackling some of Gaiman’s most sprawling stories, starting with a reunion for Dream and Lucifer:

"The end of Episode 1, if we move forward, is Dream saying to Matthew, ‘I’m going to Hell and I may not come back.’ So then Episode 2 begins with the rematch between Dream and Lucifer. It’s so juicy! I’m so looking forward to doing something entirely different with [Gwendoline Christie’s] look. I don’t want to spoil the surprises for people who haven’t read “Season of Mists,” but that’s where Dream’s trouble really begins."

Spoiler alert: In “Season of Mists,” Dream arrives in Hell to learn that it is abandoned. A tired Lucifer declares that Hell is over, and gives its key to Dream. With the key in his possession, Dream soon gets visitors from across mythologies, all wanting be the new rulers of Hell.

If you thought season 1 was a wild ride, it’s merely the tip of the iceberg. The story expands in a big way, from diving into the origins of William Shakespeare plays to stories that feature some of the most famous gods from Norse and Egyptian mythology. “I love having cast a lot of these characters already, but obviously we’ve got Norse gods to cast and Egyptian gods to cast,” Heinberg said. “We’ve got new demons and we’ve got some returning demons, so it’s a party. It’s a very ambitious season.”

Neil Gaiman explains why Tom Ellis wasn’t cast as Lucifer in The Sandman

Back when The Sandman was announced, many fans assumed that Tom Ellis would return to the role of Lucifer, whom he portrayed for six seasons in the TV show Lucifer. However, that was not the case. The Sandman found a completely new devil, that being the wonderful Gwendoline Christie.

Turns out the main reason Ellis wasn’t considered for the role was because his version of the character wasn’t menacing enough. “Would you have been scared of Tom’s Lucifer, or worried that he would destroy Dream? I wouldn’t,” Gaiman wrote on his Tumblr. “I love Tom’s Lucifer in Lucifer but for the Sandman adaptation I wanted something closer in look and feel to the original comics.”

All 11 episodes of The Sandman are now streaming on Netflix. The wait for season 2 is on. In the meantime, Audible recently released Act III of their Sandman audio dramatization. The audiobook is narrated by Neil Gaiman himself, with a stellar cast of voice actors including James McAvoy (Dream), Kat Dennings (Death), Michael Sheen (Lucifer), Andy Serkis (Matthew), and more! Find it here.

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