The Sandman First Look Teaser Breakdown: 11 Story Reveals & Secrets

Warning: The following contains minor SPOILERS for the comic The Sandman.

The first full trailer for The Sandman contained a number of nods to the original comic book series. Fan expectations for the Netflix adaptation are high, given the uniform level of high quality seen in other adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s work — not to mention the author’s personal involvement in the upcoming project. The trailer, released as part of Netflix’s TUDUM event, did not disappoint, shedding light on what audiences can expect from the fantasy series.

Originally published across 75 monthly comics and one special, The Sandman was the flagship title of DC Comics’ Vertigo line for adults for many years and inspired a number of spin-off series, including one centered around Gaiman’s version of the fallen angel Lucifer Morningstar. The series introduced The Endless, seven personifications of primal forces like Death and Destiny, who were god-like in terms of their power — yet were distinct from the many gods who populated the DC Comics multiverse. The focus of the series was the titular Sandman, which was one of the many titles and names attributed to Dream of the Endless. The series opened with Dream’s capture by a group of magicians in the early 20th century and followed him as he dealt with the consequences that arose during the seven decades of his imprisonment.

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Since The Sandman came to a close in 1996, there have been a number of efforts to adapt it into a movie or television series, including one overseen by Batman and Robin producer Jon Peters (which Neil Gaiman described as “horrible“). Thankfully, the long-awaited Netflix adaptation appears to be far more faithful to the source material based on the first trailer and boasts an impressive all-star ensemble. Here’s a rundown of every Easter egg and nod to the comics in the first Sandman trailer.

Neil Gaiman Tours The Undercroft

The preview screened during Netflix’s TUDUM event opened with author Neil Gaiman talking about the long journey in adapting The Sandman for live-action. He spoke of how impressed he was with the production team and how everything from the sets to the special effects felt like it had been “plucked from my imagination, from the world that the original artists of Sandman drew for us.” Neil Gaiman then spoke of walking the set of what was dubbed the Undercroft (the dungeon in which Dream of the Endless was trapped for seventy years) and described how it felt like walking around inside the original comic. Based on the brief glimpse of the set that was shown, this seems an accurate assessment.

Dream’s Escape

The trailer went on to show how far The Sandman‘s production team had gone in replicating the appearance of the original comics. The preview showed what appeared to be a special effects composite shot of Morpheus escaping through a portal, created by the show’s computer animation team. The trailer then showed the panel depicting Morpheus’ escape from his prison, as drawn by Sam Kieth in The Sandman #1.

A Killer Convention

Fans of the original The Sandman comics will recall how The Doll’s House depicted a convention of infamous serial killers, which was one of the many unsettling events depicted in the second Sandman storyline. Netflix’s TUDUM trailer briefly referenced this, with a sign promoting a Cereal Convention at the Empire Hotel briefly being seen as Neil Gaiman described the sets and how intricately detailed they were.

Dream and His Tools

In another scene modeled directly on The Sandman #1, the trailer offered a top-down view of Dream trapped in a magical circle. Clad in his typical black cloak, the trailer also highlighted the three tools that Dream wielded as the Sandman: a pouch of sand that put mortals to sleep, a helmet forged from the skull of an old enemy, and a ruby that allowed him to make dreams into reality.

Charles Dance As Roderick Burgess

The first scene from The Sandman trailer offered the first glimpse of Charles Dance (best known as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones) as the sorcerer Roderick Burgess. Leader of the Order of Ancient Mysteries, it was Burgess’ efforts to bind Death that lead to Dream’s accidental imprisonment. The text of the chant Burgess performs in the trailer (“I give you a coin, made from a stone. I give you a feather, pulled from an angel’s wing.” ) is taken directly from The Sandman #1.

The Voice of Evil

The final scene of the trailer featured a scary voice saying, “You’re gonna need all the help you can get.” Neil Gaiman later identified this voice as belonging to actor Boyd Holbrook, who was cast in the role of the Corinthian. A Nightmare who escaped from Dream’s realm during his imprisonment, who had been created to act as a dark mirror of humanity’s worst impulses, the Corinthian went on to become a serial killer in the Waking World and served as the main antagonist of The Sandman storyline The Doll’s House.

The First Look At Dream, Desire and Death

The Netflix TUDUM segment devoted to The Sandman ended with actress Kirby Howell-Baptiste (who will be playing the part of Death of the Endless) unveiling the official social media accounts for the show. Twitter followers will be able to keep up on all the latest news at @Netflix_Sandman, while Instagram users will be able to follow the show at @TheSandmanOfficial. The actress went on to promise that the social media accounts for Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman would be full of “first looks and teasers” and that there was already new content to be seen there.

True to her word, both accounts held a number of still images, including posters depicting Tom Sturridge as Dream, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death and the first look at Mason Alexander Park (a non-binary actor best known for playing Hedwig in the first Broadway national tour of Hedwig and the Angry Inch) as Desire. The social media accounts also contained a number of other images sure to be familiar to fans of The Sandman comics. These included a picture of Dream’s herald, Matthew the Raven, a close-up of Dream’s helmet, a close-up of Death’s ankh necklace, and what appears to be the heart-shaped piece of glass that was a reoccurring image throughout A Doll’s House.

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