New stills from Netflix's upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman revealed fans' best look yet at one of Dream's most iconic artifacts.
Revealed by Entertainment Weekly, one of the images sees Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) wearing his iconic helm while sprinkling a dash of dream sand. The actual helmet is seemingly a faithful, comics-accurate recreation of the artifact, which Dream crafted from the skull and spine of a long-dead god. The Sandman will see the titular character embarking on a quest to reclaim his helmet which was stolen by Ruthven Sykes after the Lord of Dreaming was captured by occultist Roderick Burgess.
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=750&dpr=1.5)
The second new image highlights what appears to be a stressful conversation between Dream and Death, played in the Netflix series by Kirby Howell-Baptiste. While the context surrounding the picture is currently unclear, it appears to be a reference to The Sandman #8, which marks Death's first appearance in the story.
While the hype surrounding the impending premiere of The Sandman continues to build, many fans have expressed dissatisfaction with the series' cast. Many of these criticisms stem from the show's color-blind casting, a decision that Gaiman says was essential to the quality of the story. "It's the Endless -- we did color-blind casting, because why wouldn't you?" Gaiman explained. "The comics establish that the characters look like whatever we want them to look like." The creator went on to praise Howell-Baptiste's performance, noting that audiences who think the actor is a poor fit for the role will change their minds after watching the series.
Gaiman hasn't shied away from the vitriol channeled towards Netflix's The Sandman, with the acclaimed storyteller clarifying that he doesn't pay attention to the trolls. "I give zero fucks about people who don't understand/ haven't read Sandman whining about a non-binary Desire or that Death isn't white enough," Gaiman wrote. "Watch the show, make up your minds."
The road towards developing a live-action version of The Sandman has reportedly been a difficult one for Gaiman, who insists that he's waited years for the project to come to fruition. " The important thing was to stop bad versions [of The Sandman] being made," he said. "Once a bad version is made, you never quite come back from that."
The Sandman debuts on Netflix on Aug. 15.
Source: Entertainment Weekly