After years and years and years of anticipation, Netflix finally released the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s seminal work The Sandman to the world. The show about the King of Dreams swept us away on a journey through consciousness and unconsciousness, and to realms all across The Sandman universe. It also introduced us to the personifications of Death and Desire as well as the ruler of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar.
The Sandman has its naysayers, but the overwhelming response to the show has been positive, with some saying it’s the greatest adaptation they’ve ever seen. While some major casting changes have been praised by many, like hiring Kirby Howell-Baptiste to play Death, there are some trolls who don’t seem to like these new versions of the characters. Well, Neil Gaiman posted an epic clap back on Twitter saying:
Did I go too far? https://t.co/armWrsh9PpAugust 24, 2022
Gaiman got them with that one, so much so that he asked if it was too much. The people of Twitter agree with him though. There was a consensus that this person deserved Gaiman’s comeback. @NerdvanaCTG responded with “Not far enough, I’d say…” and @touchthesun responded with “Nailed it. No notes.” Others thanked Gaiman for dealing with “trolls and racist haters.”
The user who was angry about the casting was mostly fed up with Howell-Baptiste’s casting as Death. In the comics Death is a white woman, and she is a Black woman and in the show. However, Howell-Baptiste has had one of the most praised performances in the show. Gaiman has talked about his love for Death at length, saying her performance in Episode 6 (IYKYK) had the biggest payoff and made him cry.
The Sandman has been praised for its active work to diversify its cast and change parts of the comic book to be more inclusive and representative. Along with Howell-Baptiste’s performance, some of the other characters receiving the acclaim are the characters that don’t match the original gender or race of their comic book predecessor. Gwendoline Christie is the show’s Lucifer Morningstar, a character normally portrayed by a man.
Coming off of her iconic role in Game of Thrones, she continued to steal every scene in The Sandman. Her casting caused a lot of buzz and now she is receiving all the praise. Jenna Coleman has also spoken gleefully about her take on Johanna Constantine (who is John Constantine in the comics) and how refreshing it was for her to take on such a distinct character.
While Season 2 has not been confirmed, Gaiman has responded, saying since it’s such an expensive show that Netflix needs to wait and see how it performs long-term and whether it will rank as one of the best shows to binge on Netflix. It can be expected that the casting of Delirium, Dream’s youngest sibling, will live up to the high and inclusive bar set by Season 1.
