The Sandman has been one of Netflix’s most anticipated projects as it adapts what is known as the most unfilmable comics. Written by Neil Gaiman as the show hits the screen soon, Gaiman himself and the show’s production designer Jon Gary Steele recently discussed bringing to life the world of The Sandman for the show and how in a CGI-crazed world, they created sets that captured the true vision of the comics.
The Sandman stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, Donna Preston as Despair, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar, Patton Oswald as Matthew the Raven, David Thewlis as John Dee, Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess and more. The stellar starcast combined with the vision of Gaiman and Steele has made the Netflix show look visually evocative.
Speaking about how they designed the series’ sets, Gaiman told IndieWire, “The two things that were touchpoints for us were the comics and the Powell/Pressburger films, which it turned out [co-creator Alan Heinberg] and I both love. There’s both a realism and a solidity and a willingness to walk away from realism in Powell and Pressburger, if you look at a film like ‘A Matter of Life And Death,’ the way that they would do practical effects. And in this CGI world it’s very easy to look at ‘Sandman’ and go, ‘Oh, this stuff is all CGI.’ You would be amazed at how much of it is not CGI.”
Gaiman further reiterated that while it was impossible to build it, they still built it because that was the look and the feel that we wanted for the show. The Sandman revolves around Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic and human mistakes he’s made during his vast existence. The story has a blend of dark fantasy and history.
