In a comic book series about godlike beings, the last thing readers expected was Death to be the kindest and most human one. Kirby Howell-Baptiste brought Death to life on Netflix's The Sandman in a too-short appearance, but one that demands a spinoff movie.
For a few years now, major Hollywood studios slugged it out in the streaming space. Netflix remains at the top of the industry, but the current battle in the Streaming War is one of franchises. The Sandman from Neil Gaiman and DC Comics is the newest hit on the service, and it could be a goldmine for spinoffs. Fans, amplified by Gaiman, called for entire shows based on Death and Johanna Constantine, played by Jenna Coleman. Yet, if Netflix orders The Sandman Season 2, Death plays a big role in what comes next for Morpheus (Tom Sturridge). This is why a spinoff movie with Death is a better idea, allowing time for Kirby Howell-Baptiste to be in the series proper.
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The original design for Death in The Sandman comics did not come from Gaiman. He wanted her to look like a rock star, but artist Mike Dringenberg sent him a drawing inspired by a woman he knew named Cinamon Hadley, who died in 2018. The only detail Gaiman added was the ankh necklace. The character's personality on the page is one of The Sandman's best magic tricks. Death becomes the character readers always love to see, even when it's heartbreaking. And Baptiste captures the essence of the character in every way that matters. Losing her to a spinoff series would make Netflix's The Sandman worse for her absence. Still, it doesn't take as long to film a movie as it does a whole series. Gaiman and Dringenberg already gave them the blueprint.
At the height of the comics' popularity, Gaiman did a three-issue spinoff featuring the character called Death: The High Cost of Living. In the long saga of adapting these stories to film, this was almost a movie called Death & Me produced (and likely co-directed) by Guillermo Del Toro, according to Movieweb.com. While that story is a classic in comics, the main premise is any Netflix premise should take. Once a century, Death spends a day as a human. She lives as a mortal to better understand what they are losing when she meets each person who dies. The comic tells a beautiful story, but it's very much of its time. An anthology film or even a series of them depicting those days throughout the centuries is an exciting brand-new story for this brand-new Death.
The Sandman is an expensive series, heavily reliant on both visual effects and expensive, period set dressing. Gaiman took full advantage of the limitless possibilities of the comics medium in telling this tale. However, Netflix has to be practical. Setting a Death spinoff movie in the present day is simply a good budgetary decision. It could tell the kind of sad, beautiful stories Death is known for set in the modern context. After nearly three years in a global pandemic, loss has touched more people's lives than it hasn't. Expect a lot of stories about grief in the next few years. Yet, the Death character is uniquely positioned to tell self-contained versions of those stories but in a way that leaves audiences feeling comforted, if not hopeful.
Netflix has its hands on one of the best characters in the entire DC Comics canon, whose stories have never been more relevant. Kirby Howell-Baptiste is needed for a second season of The Sandman, but a spinoff movie about her character could be the story we've all been waiting for.
The entire first season, including a bonus episode, of The Sandman is currently streaming on Netflix.