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A new, hi-res still from Netflix's highly-anticipated series adaptation of Neil Gaiman's acclaimed Vertigo Comics title The Sandman offers the best look yet at actor Tom Sturridge as main protagonist Dream of the Endless, aka Morpheus.
Shared by Entertainment Weekly, the image sees Sturridge's Morpheus sporting a black, cloak-like outfit and holding his iconic helmet, which is one of his three totems of power. This would imply that the still is taken from the latter half of The Sandman Season 1, after Morpheus retrieves the helm from the depths of Hell.
Sandman fans previously got a look at Sturridge as Morpheus in a first look promo released back in September 2021, as well as on a character poster released around the same time.
"I think I have personally seen 1,500 Morpheus auditions. I hesitate to imagine how many [casting director] Lucinda Syson and her team have seen," Gaiman told EW regarding the process that led the Netflix show's creative team to Sturridge. "Having watched all those other auditions, we were able to go to Netflix and say, 'It's Tom. We know it's Tom.'"
However, Sturridge himself says he can't complain about the lengthy casting process. "It was entirely necessary, because this is a character who is so utterly beloved -- by me more than anyone," the actor explained. "That requires you to spend time with a human being to discover if they can live up to the dream you have of who he is... I think The Sandman pervades culture. Even the name Morpheus, King of Dreams, kind of haunted me in my youth."
Originally written by Gaiman, penciled by Sam Kieth, inked by Mike Dringenberg, colored by Robbie Busch and lettered by Todd Klein, The Sandman launched from DC Comics in December 1988, and would go on to become a mainstay of the publisher's now-defunct Vertigo imprint. The comic's first story arc, Preludes & Nocturnes, follows Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, who is captured and held prisoner by a cult for 70 years. Upon his escape, Morpheus begins searching for his lost totems -- a helmet, a pouch of sand and a Dreamstone -- so that he may return to his full power.
The first season of Netflix's The Sandman, which is slated to run for a total of 11 episodes, will adapt Preludes & Nocturnes -- plus, in Gaiman's own words, "a little bit more." One key difference, though, is that while the comic took place in 1988, the show takes place in 2021, with Morpheus being held captive for 105 years, as opposed to 70.
Netflix's The Sandman still lacks an official premiere date, though the show is expected to arrive in 2022.
Source: Entertainment Weekly