According to The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman, Netflix's television adaptation of the acclaimed supernatural comic will not go out of its way to connect to the larger DC Universe, instead focusing its attention on being a standalone story.
Vertigo Comics' original Sandman title featured a number of connections to the main DCU, especially early in its run. For example, Gaiman and his collaborators threw in a few nods to DC's Golden Age Sandman, Wesley Dodds. What's more, The Sandman's first story arc, Preludes & Nocturnes -- which the first season of the upcoming Netflix series adapts -- features guest appearances by Scott Free/Mister Miracle and J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter.
More specifically, in 1989's Sandman #5, main protagonist Dream of the Endless enlists the aid of the two Justice League of America members on his quest to locate the Dream Ruby -- the third and final artifact he must retrieve in order to return to his full power. Martian Manhunter later popped up again in 1995's Sandman #71, even being joined by Superman and Batman within the pages of the Vertigo title.
On his official Tumblr blog, Gaiman explained that he referenced the main DC Universe in The Sandman not because DC Comics asked him to, but because he had a "desire" to -- often to the "bafflement" of cover artist Dave McKean. "I loved getting to work in the fabric of the DC Universe, loved doing things like the PREZ episode or the Element Girl story, loved sending Batman and Superman and the Martian Manhunter to the Wake," Gaiman wrote.
However, Gaiman also confessed that "[a]s Sandman went along it seemed naturally to drift away from the DC Universe into one that looked a lot more like ours." He continued, "Making Sandman for Netflix is a chance to do it again, and to do it with the economy of not needing to exist in a shared universe in the same way. So when we do the Joe Simon and Jack Kirby Dream Dome Sandman stuff, we do it slightly differently, and we don't need the scene with the Justice League to get Dream to the Ruby." So, while Martian Manhunter is present in The Sandman's audio adaptation, fans probably shouldn't expect to see the JLA when Dream and company make their way to Netflix.
Netflix's adaptation of The Sandman does not have an official premiere date, though it is expected to debut on the streaming platform sometime next year. The show stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, Jenna Coleman as Lady Johanna Constantine, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire and Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, among many others.
Source: Tumblr