Two clips from the upcoming Netflix series, The Sandman, the long-awaited adaptation of author Neil Gaiman’s groundbreaking comic books series, are now available online.
The two clips accompany an exclusive article at IGN pointing out the great similarities and occasional differences between the Netflix series and the original source material. The comic book, which came out between 1989 and 1997, was set contemporaneously. The series will likewise be set in the current era and adapted accordingly, with other details changed to better reflect diversity and 21st-century norms, a change that Gaiman, who acts as series showrunner, says affects the new show little if at all.
“It’s not like I looked at Sandman and went, ‘We need to update you.’” Gaiman told IGN. “It’s much more, ‘Okay, we’re going to set it now. What does that mean for the story? How is that going to affect things?’ And the answer is, mostly, it doesn’t affect things at all.”
The first of the two clips, for example, depicts a pivotal meeting between Lucifer, played here by Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones, and The Sandman himself, Dream of the Endless, played by Tom Sturridge. Other than the gender-switched role of Lucifer (if, indeed, angels can be said to have gender), the scene plays roughly out exactly like the meeting that occurred in the pages of Gaiman’s first collection of Sandman tales, “Preludes and Nocturnes,” right down to the name of the minor duke of Hell who has gained possession of Dream’s helm of office.
While the original art for the story, “A Hope in Hell,” from Sandman Vol. 2 #4 originally portrayed Lucifer with the male features of a young David Bowie, Christie is no less imposing in her scene. While the beats of the scene are slightly different than the comic book — a result of the differences between the media they take place in, no doubt — the tale told is absolutely the same.
The second clip, taken from “The Sound of Her Wings,” consistently rated as one of the all-time best issues of the series, does bear a few notable differences from the comic source. The scene shows Dream as he accompanies his eldest sister, Death, as she makes her rounds, ushering souls on from this existence to the next. Death addresses an elderly Jewish violinist as he plays, gently informing him that his time has come.
The original scene in the comic occurred between Death and a Jewish man who had spent a portion of his life imitating a Romany while playing violin in restaurants in the 1930s and ‘40s. The updated scene excises this fact, along with removing a derogatory bit of slang. The scene works just as effectively, however, and both characters ask and are allowed to say the Jewish prayer known as the Shema Yisrael before departing with Dream’s sister.
The scene appears to be just as affecting as its comic book counterpart, with YouTube users leaving comments like “THIS is what makes Sandman great, what makes Death so fascinating,” and “Oh, that was so beautiful. So close to the comics, so emotional and powerful.”
The Sandman will be available for streaming on Netflix on August 5, 2022.
