When the highly-anticipated show The Sandman first premiered on Netflix in August 2022, the dark fantasy series quickly became one of the biggest shows of 2022 and achieved a major milestone: It amassed over 127.5 million hours watched in its first full week, leading it to soar to no. 1 in the streaming giant's top 10 rankings.
Clearly, fans can't get enough of The Sandman — and it's easy to see why. The long-awaited Netflix show, based on writer Neil Gaiman's best-selling DC comic book series of the same name, tells the complex, fantastical tale of Morpehus (Tom Sturridge), the King of Dreams, as he sets out to restore order to his realm after escaping captivity from an occult group. Now, after a first season full of exciting twists and turns, viewers are wondering the same thing: Is there going to be a season 2 of The Sandman?
If you're itching for more from the world of The Sandman, here's everything we know about season 2.
Will there be a season 2 of The Sandman?
Fans of The Sandman can rejoice: Netflix has confirmed that the show was renewed for a second season! According to Deadline, the confirmation of the renewal came after an accidental leak by DC Comics’ official Twitter page. Both Netflix and writer Neil made sure to chime in with a teaser video featuring Morpheus’ Helm of Dreams.
“It gives me unbelievable pleasure to say that, working with Netflix and Warner Bros., Allan Heinberg, David Goyer and I will be bringing even more of The Sandman stories to life," the author said in a full statement, per Netflix. "There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them (not to mention more members of the Endless Family to meet) ... And now it’s time to get back to work. There’s a family meal ahead, after all. And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell.”
Is there a release date announced for The Sandman season 2 yet?
Unfortunately, there is no word yet on an official release date for season 2 of The Sandman. However, the show's executive producer David S. Goyer revealed to Den of Geek that writing for season 2 was already underway. According to him, the process is a little easier this time around, thanks to the groundwork done in season 1.
“In some ways, it’s easier because we’ve educated the audience to the basic ideas. We’ve shown how the dreaming life can affect the waking world,” he told the the outlet. “They’re more like jazz, where you get to plan variations. And we get to stretch our wings a bit more.”
The Sandman is a big budget show with a huge cast and plenty of special effects, so we can expect for filming to take some time.
Do we know who will be in The Sandman season 2 cast?
While the official cast for the new season isn't known yet, here's a list of cast members from season 1 that we hope make a return:
- Tom Sturridge as Morpheus/Dream/The Sandman
- Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death
- Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer
- Mason Alexander Park as Desire
- Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne
- Patton Oswalt as Matthew the Raven
Additionally, you can expect to see some minor characters, who only briefly appeared in the first season, in more major roles this new season — as well as a whole lot of new faces, according to The Sandman showrunner Allan Heinberg.
"I love having cast a lot of these characters already, but obviously we've got Norse gods to cast and Egyptian gods to cast," he told Entertainment Weekly back in August. "We've got new demons and we've got some returning demons, so it's a party. It's a very ambitious season."
What do we know about what might happen in The Sandman season 2?
Allan had plenty more to tease about the new season. He revealed to EW that season 2 of the show will cover the fourth volume of The Sandman comics, titled Season of Mists — a storyline that the final epic moments in the first season's finale certainly sets up for.
"The end of episode one, if we move forward, is Dream saying to Matthew, 'I'm going to Hell and I may not come back,'" Allan teased to the outlet. "So then episode two begins with the rematch between Dream and Lucifer. It's so juicy! I'm so looking forward to doing something entirely different with Gwendoline'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."
In an interview with Variety, Neil also expressed his excitement over the rematch between the ruler of Hell and the King of Dreams.
“I take too much ... pleasure in saying to people who do not know anything about what’s coming up in The Sandman, 'If we do Season 2, we’re going to be having the rematch and Morpheus is going to be going back to hell. And Lucifer has some surprises in store that Morpheus is not expecting,'" he said to the publication.
The writer continued: "And they are all like, 'Ahh!' And I’m like, 'Yeah, and I know how that’s going to work, and you don’t. And everybody who’s ever read Season of Mists knows how that’s going to work and you don’t.' But that’s good because not everybody will have read Season of Mists and this is going to be so much fun.”
How can I watch and stream The Sandman?
If you want to watch (or rewatch) the first season of The Sandman while you await the arrival of season 2, you can stream the first 11 epsiodes of the series on the Netflix site or Netflix app. In case you don't have an account yet, there are different options the streamer lets you subscribe to that range from $9.99 to $19.99 per month.
