Dreamers awaken! The Sandman saga is back in production, preparing to bring new phantasmagorical episodes — conjured from Neil Gaiman’s iconic graphic novel, which debuted 35 years ago today — to the screen. And it’s finally time to find out who has been cast as Endless family members Destiny, Delirium, and The Prodigal.

“This week we officially restart production on the next sequence of stories of The Sandman for Netflix,” wrote Gaiman in a letter to fans in November 2023. “Genius showrunner Allan Heinberg and the countless people in front of and behind the camera are building something endlessly special, and bringing these stories to life in a way that would once have been unimaginable.”

When we last wandered into the dream world, the magnificently coiffed realm-lord Morpheus aka Dream (Tom Sturridge) and his cadre of companions faced down an impending onslaught of Lucifer’s (Gwendoline Christie) hell-spawned legions. Now, the Endless family finally assembles with new cast members to conjure more dreams and nightmares. 

Developed and executive produced by Heinberg, David S. Goyer, and Gaiman (who created this take of the characters in his original DC Comics), the original 11 episodes of the series debuted on Netflix in 2022. 

So, who will play the Endless in Season 2 of The Sandman?

Other Endless family members joining Dream (Sturridge) in Season 2 include Adrian Lester as Destiny, Esmé Creed-Miles as Delirium, and Barry Sloane as The Prodigal. These new names round out the Endless Family which includes Kirby as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire and Donna Preston as Despair who are returning from Season 1. Family dinners just got interesting. 

Which cast members are returning for The Sandman Season 2?

The additional returning cast includes: Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Ferdinand Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Vanesu Samunyai, and Razane Jammal. 

Who’s in The Sandman Season 1 cast?

• Tom Sturridge (Being Julia, Waiting for Forever) as Dream, a member of a larger family known as the Endless, immortal beings who rule their own realms
• Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Star Wars) as Lucifer, the lord of Hell 
• Boyd Holbrook (Narcos, In the Shadow of the Moon) as the Corinthian, an escaped nightmare who feasts on unfortunate souls 
• Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, BoJack Horseman) as Matthew the Raven, Dream’s wise sidekick 
• Vivienne Acheampong (Everything Now, Famalam) as Lucienne, the chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream’s realm
• Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Crown) as Roderick Burgess, a charlatan, blackmailer, and magician who tries to entrap Death but accidentally captures Death’s brother, Dream, instead
• Jenna Coleman (The Serpent, Wilderness) as Johanna Constantine, a tough necromancer and successful occult adventuress for hire
• David Thewlis (Fargo, Big Mouth) as John Dee, a madman on a quest for
  truth that may destroy the world
• Kirby (The Good Place, Barry) as Death, Dream’s wiser and much more sensible sister in the Endless family. She ushers souls to the afterlife. 
• Mason Alexander Park (Quantum Leap, Cowboy Bebop) as Desire, Dream’s
  fellow Endless sibling who’s as mischievous as they are sultry  
• Donna Preston (Good Omens, Hard Cell) as Despair, Desire’s twin, and Dream’s sister. She’s the bleakest of the Endless.
• Vanesu Samunyai (formerly known as Kyo Ra) as Rose Walker, a young
  woman on a desperate search for her missing brother. She holds immense power that not even she realizes. 
• Stephen Fry (Gosford Park, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Gilbert, Rose Walker’s classy protector — a dab hand with a sword cane
• John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) as Hal a bighearted bed-and-breakfast owner who’s a veritable den mother for the ragtag residents of his Florida estate. But by night, Hal is a drag superstar — in his small-town dive bar at least.
• Asim Chaudhry (Wonder Woman, High & Dry) as Abel, the world’s first murder victim who lives alongside his twin brother Cain in the Dreaming 
• Sanjeev Bhaskar (The Kumars at No. 42, The Indian Doctor) as Cain, the first murderer, who still enacts violence on his twin brother, Abel 
• Joely Richardson (The Tudors, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Ethel Cripps, Roderick Burgess’ love in the ’20s and ’30s and John Dee’s mother, who plays a vital role in Dream’s fate
• Niamh Walsh (Holby City, Jamestown) as young Ethel Cripps, in her early days with Burgess   
• Sandra James-Young (EastEnders, Coronation Street) as Unity Kincaid, an heiress and Rose’s mysterious benefactor. She’s spent a century asleep, but now she’s awake and has missed out on a lot of her life.
• Razane Jammal (Doubt, Djinn) as Lyta Hall, Rose’s friend, a young widow mourning her husband

Where did inspiration for The Sandman come from?

Below, read Gaiman’s reflection on the stormy day in 1987 when The Sandman first crept from his imagination to the page:

We never know where our dreams will take us. Thirty-five years ago today, the first issue of The Sandman was released and set many people and characters on paths that seemed, even at the time, so unlikely as to be impossible. Back then most comics featured superheroes. Sandman wasn’t that. It wasn’t like anything else, but magically (the magic consisting of hard work, youthful overconfidence, and some key people who believed in the vision) we were given the opportunity to tell the story I had in my head and bring Morpheus and the rest of the Endless to life.

A little over 36 years ago, in October 1987, the worst storm in at least 500 years left my house without power and my family trapped in our little village by fallen trees, and I spent my time writing an outline for the first eight issues of Sandman.

Thirteen months later, in November 1988, the first issue of Sandman hit the comics shops.

Like those who walk a path in Destiny’s garden, I look back and see one clear path stretching behind me. At times on this journey the way forward seemed impossible, and I don’t think I could have conceived of the impact that these characters would have on individuals or on the world. When I look at the path ahead, though, I don’t see darkness. I see how the world of The Sandman continues to grow and evolve and take new forms.

This week we officially restart production on the next sequence of stories of The Sandman for Netflix. Genius showrunner Allan Heinberg and the countless people in front of and behind the camera are building something endlessly special, and bringing these stories to life in a way that would once have been unimaginable.

A journey is beginning that will take us from Destiny’s garden to Hell, from the Heart of the Dreaming to Ancient Greece and revolutionary France, and from there to places even I cannot quite imagine on the screen. I will be patient. Good things are coming.

— Neil Gaiman

The Sandman Renewal Announcement

Stream the first 11 episodes of The Sandman now.