Deities, fairies, demons of Hell and other unlikely beings await viewers in the second season of The Sandman, according to the official Netflix trailer.
Many fans of the best-selling comic book series have been clamouring for an adaptation for over 30 years. When the dark fantasy finally arrived, the critical reception was positive, and the show was a big hit for Netflix. Therefore, the news of the series’ cancellation came as a painful blow to many viewers.
During the interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Allan Heinberg stated the decision was made years ago – the series was meant to focus on Morpheus, however, he isn’t the main character in many comic book story arcs:
There are some volumes where he just appears in two scenes. There’s so many protagonists in Sandman, but you think of the whole thing as his story. It turned out to be about another season’s worth of story, without leaving out anybody’s favorite moments or scenes.
However, before Netflix announced its decision, Vulture published a report on several sexual misconducts by Neil Gaiman. After the publication, the writer was dropped by his comics’ publisher, Dark Horse. Disney cancelled the adaptation of Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, while Amazon decided to remove the author from work on Good Omens season 3 and end the series with one 90-minute episode.
Not surprisingly, the rumours spread that Netflix had axed The Sandman due to the accusations against the writer. The series’ showrunner, however, dismissed those theories, stating that the allegations against Gaiman merely coincided in time with the cancellation of the show.
We’ve gathered all the news about the last instalment of The Sandman.
When will The Sandman season 2 be released?
The second season of The Sandman will be split into two parts.
Volume 1 (Episodes 1–6) will be released on Thursday, 3 July 2025, while Volume 2 (Episodes 7–11) will drop on Netflix on Thursday, 24 July 2024.
On Thursday, 31 July 2025 the final bonus episode will premiere.
Season 2, in total, will consist of 12 episodes.
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The Sandman season 2 episode titles
Here are the titles of all episodes in the second season.
Volume 1
- Chapter 1: “Season of Mists” – The episode is named after the fourth collection of The Sandman. The volume covers a specific decision made by Lucifer and its consequences.
- Chapter 2: “The Ruler of Hell” – Most likely a reference to Lucifer Morningstar, played by Gwendoline Christie.
- Chapter 3: “More Devils Than Vast Hell Can Hold” – The title refers to the issue, A Midsummer Night’s Dream from the volume, The Sandman: Dream Country. It’s also a quote from Shakespeare’s play.
- Chapter 4: “Brief Lives” – The episode derives its name from the seventh collection of The Sandman. The volume focuses on Delirium of the Endless and her search for her beloved brother, Destruction.
- Chapter 5: “The Song of Orpheus” – This episode is titled after The Sandman’s special issue of the same name. The original story focused on the bard of Greek myth and his relationship with Dream.
- Chapter 6: “Family Blood” – This title probably refers to the phrase “spilling family blood” – something that Dream wants to avoid.
Volume 2
- Chapter 7: “Time and Night” – The title refers to the parents of the Endless. Time is the father, while Night is the mother of Morpheus and his siblings.
- Chapter 8: “Fuel for the Fire” – Episode dedicated to the Corinthian, judging by the photos with episode titles published by Netflix.
- Chapter 9: “The Kindly Ones” – The title of the episodes derives from the ninth collection of issues of The Sandman. The titular “kindly ones” are Erinyes, goddesses of vengeance.
- Chapter 10: “Long Live the King” – The title refers to the old French phrase “The King Is Dead. Long Live The King”. It appears in the last volume of The Sandman series, The Wake.
- Chapter 11: “A Tale of Graceful Ends” – The episode is named after the phrase from a conversation between Morpheus and Shakespeare in The Wake.
Special Bonus Episode
- Chapter 12: “Death: The High Cost of Living” – The title refers to the comic book limited series, which is the spin-off to The Sandman. It centres around Dream’s sister, Death.
What will the plot of The Sandman season 2 be?
The first season of The Sandman was largely based on the volumes Preludes & Nocturne and The Doll’s House, although the narrative deviated in several ways from the source material.
The show’s creators will likely follow a similar path for the next season of the show. A scene at the end of the first season sets up a key storyline from the fourth collection, Season of Mists, although we don’t expect the series to follow the graphic novel’s plot exactly. According to the showrunner, executive producer, and writer, Allan Heinberg, the second season will pick up a few weeks after the events of the last episode of season 1:
After more than a century away from the Dreaming, Dream has been restoring and rebuilding his kingdom. As he transforms the palace, he vows to leave the past behind and look to the future. The past, of course, has other ideas.
Besides events from Season of Mists, season 2 will include plots from the volumes Dream Country, Brief Lives, The Kindly Ones and The Sandman: Overture. The second instalment will also adapt single-issue stories such as Tales in the Sand, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Song of Orpheus, Thermidor, and The Tempest, among others.
So, what do we expect to see in season 2 of the Netflix series? More Lucifer, for sure! You can expect your favourite demon to appear in their finest garments to spread chaos and destruction. The comics also introduce Destiny and Delirium, two other Endless, and the Norse gods Thor, Loki, and Odin. We will probably also learn more about Morpheus and Nada’s romance.
The showrunner assured viewers that the second season of The Sandman will bring a lot of surprises:
We managed to add a great deal of material, as we did in season 1, and a lot of really fun surprises for fans of the comics who know the entire story. We pulled from a lot of different sources. We took a lot of the single-issue stories and wove them into the fabric of Dream’s narrative.
Who is the cast of The Sandman season 2?
In the first clip for the new season, Netflix introduced the Endless siblings, comprised of 7 people. The characters known from the previous season were joined by Destiny, Delirium and the Prodigal.
Here’s the full list:
- Tom Sturridge as Dream (Sandman, Morpheus)
- Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death
- Mason Alexander Park as Desire
- Donna Preston as Despair
- Adrian Lester as Destiny
- Esmé Creed-Miles as Delirium
- Barry Sloane as the Prodigal (Destruction)
Also joining the cast is Ruairi O’Connor, who you may know from The Morning Show and The Spanish Princess. He will portray Orpheus, a romantic young man, the poet, musician, and oracle, and the only child of Morpheus and the muse, Calliope. According to Netflix, Orpheus is an idealistic, romantic, young man until tragedy strikes and reveals to him the true nature of love.
Other additions to the cast include:
- Clive Russell – Odin, the father of Thor
- Freddie Fox as Loki, a charming, seductive shape-shifter and the god of chaos
- Laurence O’Fuarain – Thor, the god of storm, driven by his appetites for food and drink, battle, and sex
- Ann Skelly – Nuala, the sister of Cluracan and royal emissary from the court of Faerie. She is responsible, empathetic, and principled
- Douglas Booth – Cluracan, Nuala’s brother and royal emissary from the court of Faerie. He is an impulsive rogue who lives for pleasure
- Jack Gleeson – Puck, a malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie
- Indya Moore – Wanda, a professional driver and security agent for an exclusive travel firm
- Steve Coogan – The voice of Barnabas the dog, a loyal but outspoken cynical companion of the Endless’ Prodigal brother
Netflix also confirmed that in the second season, we will see the return of the following characters:
- Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar, the lord of Hell
- Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, an escaped nightmare who feasts on unfortunate souls
- Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, necromancer and occult adventuress for hire
- Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, the chief librarian
- Patton Oswalt as the voice of Matthew the Raven, Dream’s wise sidekick
- Vanesu Samunyai as Rose Walker, a young woman on a desperate search for her missing brother.
- Sanjeev Bhaskar as Cain, the first murderer
- Asim Chaudhary as Abel, the world’s first murder victim
- Ferdinand Kingsley as Hob Gadling
- Stephen Fry as Gilbert, Rose Walker’s protector
- Razane Jammal as Lyta Hall
Is there a trailer for The Sandman season 2?
Yes! Netflix has published the first official trailer for the season:
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