Did Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ create a ‘Game of Thrones’ reference? The easter egg, explained

Netflix’s latest acclaimed series is an adaptation of the classic Neil Gaiman graphic novel series, The Sandman. The Sandman follows Dream, also known as Morpheus and played by Tom Sturridge, as he attempts to rebuild his realm the Dreaming, after being trapped in the human world for decades. The series also stars Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar, David Thewlis as John Dee, and Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne.

One of the episodes in the series, which released its first season on August 5, 2022, has a surprising connection to Game of Thrones. But is the reference to the famous HBO series intentional or is it just a coincidence? Let’s unpack exactly what the reference was, and its context within The Sandman. 

What was the possible Game of Thrones reference in The Sandman?

Netflix’s The Sandman adapts the first two graphic novels in Neil Gaiman’s iconic series, The Sandman – Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes, and The Sandman – Vol. 2: The Doll’s House. In Preludes & Nocturnes, Morpheus journeys to Hell to retrieve the Helmet of Dreams, after it was stolen by a demon named Choronzon. One of the few differences between the plot of the series and the comic book is that to win his helmet back, Dream battles Lucifer, but in the comic, he battles Choronzon. 

In both the adaptation and the source material, Morpheus participates in the Oldest Game. The Oldest Game is a game of wits between two characters where the winner is decided based on who has the greatest imagination. If you falter in your line of thought and hesitate, you lose. In episode four of the series “A Hope in Hell,” Lucifer makes the first move with, “I am a dire wolf, prey-stalking lethal prowler.” This is where the Game of Thrones reference lies.

Of course, in Game of Thrones, dire wolves belonged to the sigil of House Stark with the Stark family finding a pup for each Stark child at the beginning of the series. By the end of the series, only one stood with their companion, as Jon Snow rides into the North with his dire wolf Ghost. So when Gwendoline Christie, who played Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones and Lucifer in The Sandman, mentions a dire wolf, it is only natural to pick it up as a reference. 

However as you can see above, the line is the same in the comic book. Preludes & Nocturnes was released in 1989, whereas A Game of Thrones was first published in 1996, so there is no way something in The Sandman could be based on anything in Game of Thrones, but the reverse could be true. Maybe George R. R. Martin was inspired to include dire wolves in A Song of Ice and Fire after reading Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. Of course, neither Gaiman nor Martin invented the dire wolf — the extinct canine is one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America.

Either way, it’s a funny coincidence that the writers changed the series so Lucifer fought Dream instead, allowing Gwendoline Christie to have a Game of Thrones moment by mentioning the dire wolf. It didn’t stop Dream from winning the battle, defeating the dire wolf with “I am a hunter, horse-mounted, wolf-stabbing,” and then ultimately winning with the power of hope. 

The first season of The Sandman is currently available to stream on Netflix.