The Sandman producer, David S. Goyer, has damaged down why the present ended early, regardless of extra seasons being deliberate. The present was tailored from the comedian e book collection co-created by Neil Gaiman, and premiered on Netflix on August 5, 2022. Regardless of its success and demanding recognition, the collection concluded on July 31, 2025, after two seasons and 23 episodes.
The Sandman follows Morpheus, the personification of desires, who escapes from 106 years in captivity and units about restoring order to his realm, referred to as the Dreaming. Regardless of two extra seasons being deliberate, it was revealed that The Sandman season 3 shouldn’t be taking place, and the present would finish with season 2.
Per ComicBook.com, Goyer mentioned the unique plan for the present to span 4 10-episode seasons, however the brief size of a few of The Sandman comedian points meant that the present was burning by means of materials sooner than anticipated, so it did not make sense for the collection to overstay its welcome. Take a look at Goyer’s feedback beneath:
The largest subject was when Allan Heinberg and I have been first pitching the present, I believe we envisioned 4, 10-episode seasons.
As soon as we began determining Season 1, quite a lot of these early Sandman comics are solely 17 or 18 pages lengthy, and we discovered we have been typically burning by means of three or 4 episodes. Clearly, it wasn’t a straight adaptation. The early Sandman points have been far more tied into DC continuity, however we have been simply burning by means of the supply materials sooner than we thought.
One ask from Netflix, which was honest, is that we give attention to Morpheus, on Dream, as a lot as doable. One in all my favourite arcs, he’s barely in. It’s very Jonathan Carroll-esque. We discovered methods to do it that concerned him. He exhibits up on the finish of it, however that was an enormous arc that we eliminated.
I wasn’t as concerned in beating out Season 2, however I used to be stunned when Allan first instructed me that he needed to do the Kindly Ones, successfully, for 4 episodes, as a result of it’s the longest arc within the e book. I used to be slightly uncertain, nevertheless it works. It doesn’t really feel like we’re skipping over issues. The opposite factor is, despite the fact that we tailored quite a lot of the standalone points, a few of them proved costly. I believe we ended up adapting about half a dozen of them.
It was actually the liberation of realizing we have been writing in the direction of an finish. When you’ll discover, the primary season feels extra episodic, with a Dream case of the week, whereas Season 2 feels prefer it has a really clear throughline.
Then, having the chance to make a number of the choices that Neil hadn’t made when writing the e book. Allan embellished the connection with the Corinthian. Issues like that, I believe, have been extra add-ons. I actually like the connection with Puck and Loki, which have been constructed upon even additional than within the comedian books. They have been mischievous, pleasant tricksters.
What This Means For The Sandman’s Cancellation
Goyer’s feedback make a level of sense, and for an adaptation like The Sandman, it could have been vital to not deviate an excessive amount of from the supply materials. The recognition of the comedian e book means audiences would wish to see a trustworthy adaptation, and 4 seasons might need felt bloated, with an excessive amount of padding, which may doubtlessly detract from the story.
Lifeless Boy Detectives, one other Gaiman Netflix adaptation, shared the identical continuity as The Sandman.
The truth that The Sandman season 2 took on a much less episodic format exhibits the inventive crew had a plan for wrapping up the season, and one thing to work in the direction of. Whereas there may be narrative scope to revive the present, with the (semi)-cliffhanger ending of Daniel Corridor changing Morphus as the brand new Dream, there are not any plans for this.
Our Take On The Sandman’s Cancellation
Whereas Goyer’s feedback do shine a lightweight on the choice to cancel the present early, it additionally appears doubtless that the a number of sexual misconduct allegations in opposition to Gaiman may have contributed to the choice. Good Omens season 3, one other Gaiman adaptation, was paused in gentle of the allegations and altered to conclude with a feature-length episode.
Goyer and showrunner Allan Heinberg did an admirable job of concluding the present in a method that felt natural, however there’s little doubt that there’s sufficient materials that The Sandman may have continued. It feels doubtless the choice for a untimely cancellation was made in gentle of the Gaiman state of affairs, although different components will little question have performed a task.
The Sandman
7/10
- Launch Date
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2022 – 2025-00-00
- Community
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Allan Heinberg
- Administrators
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Louise Hooper, Andrés Baiz, Hisko Hulsing, Mike Barker, Coralie Fargeat
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Tom Sturridge
Morpheus / Dream
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Boyd Holbrook
The Corinthian