Netflix reveals The Sandman release date in exciting new trailer

It’s been a long time coming, but a new trailer for Netflix’s The Sandman is finally here, which also reveals the show’s release date.

It’s time for the Sandman to rise. Published by DC Comics, Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” arrived in 1989 to critical acclaim. The series centered around the Lord of Dreams, Morpheus, breaking free after being brought into the human realm and imprisoned for decades by a cult (who was looking to trap his sister, Death, instead).

The series became an instant classic, and it would be the subject of a planned live-action adaptation for many years. The project never materialized, but Morpheus is finally coming to live-action in the form of Netflix’s The Sandman starring Tom Sturridge as the titular character.

Fans of the comic have been eagerly anticipating a better look at the series following last year’s teaser. Now, Netflix has released a new look at the show, revealing its premiere date to be Aug. 5, 2022.

The Sandman Netflix trailer

The trailer is brief but features plenty of material to analyze and mull over. For starters, it provides a better look at Sturridge’s appropriately stoic (and dare we say slightly creepy) performance as the Lord of Dreams.

The footage also reveals some of the series’ key players, including Jenna Coleman’s Johanna Constantine and Boyd Holbrook’s villainous Corinthian. One of the most exciting aspects of this trailer is how it treats Morpheus almost as a horror entity, evident by the scene showing Constantine learning that Dream is back in action.

The world of the series also feels impressively large, which is not unexpected, given that Deadline reported earlier in 2022 that The Sandman was expected to cost up to $15 million per episode. With its grand scale and horror-inspired elements, all the pieces seem to be in place for a promising adaptation of Morpheus’ universe, and we can’t wait to see it play out on screen.

Pushing Boundaries

It seems audiences can expect Morpheus’ television adventure to push the boundaries of what’s expected from comic-book adaptations. “The Sandman” comics often touched on significantly dark and heavy topics. One issue that became controversial for such an approach is issue #6, “24 Hours.”

The story centered around villain (and overall hardcore psychopath) John Dee, a.k.a. Doctor Destiny (who will be played by David Thewlis on the show), going into a diner and controlling the people there with Morpheus’ dream ruby — a stone capable of manipulating minds and bending wills. Over the course of 24 hours, Dee tortured the patrons, making them succumb to their basic instincts before ultimately killing them in disturbing ways.

While the comic at times implied more than it showed, it was still an incredibly graphic depiction of Doctor Destiny’s depravity. Much like Prime Video’s The Boys, it appears Netflix won’t shy away from the horrific nature of this storyline. In fact, it will adapt it — and quite faithfully from the sounds of it.

Last year, a fan on Twitter expressed his hesitance to watch a “24 Hours” adaptation of The Sandman, to which author Neil Gaiman replied, “It’s episode 5. Just don’t watch that one.” Then, actor Patton Oswalt — who will voice Matthew the Raven, Morpheus’ messenger — hinted at the graphicness of the episode, stating he would not feel comfortable watching it:

This, of course, could simply be a way to pique fans’ curiosity and raise their anticipation for the boundaries that The Sandman will push. Yet, going by how violent the story is, we wouldn’t be surprised if the show retains its source material’s horrific touch.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2017, Gaiman discussed how he came up with “24 Hours,” revealing he drew inspiration from older comics that would be 24-pages long and decided to set the story in one location to better fit that page limit:

"“Suddenly, I went, ‘Hang on. I’ll stay in one location, and awful things are going to happen in this one location over 24 hours.’ And it came into focus suddenly and beautifully. I knew roughly what had to happen in each hour and just brought a bunch of people onto the stage and destroyed them. And it was an awful thing. It was like, ‘Okay, where does my imagination go? What would I do to these people?’ And then going, ‘This needs to be relentless. It needs to be horrible. And it can never be torture porn. You can never enjoy what is happening to these people.'”"

The Boys has shown how far superhero violence, gore and sexuality can be pushed without the restraints of theatrical ratings or network television standards. As such, it will be curious to see whether Netflix does indeed bring “24 Hours” to life as faithfully (and terrifyingly) as possible.

As previously stated, The Sandman will arrive on Netflix on Aug. 5, 2022.

What did you think about The Sandman trailer? Who are you most excited to see brought to life in live-action? Let us know in the comments!