The Sandman showrunner teases potential season 2: Here's why we're excited

The Sandman showrunner teases potential season 2: Here's why we're excited

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Sandman season 1.

The Sandman season 1 is now streaming on Netflix, but readers of the legendary 75-issue comic written by Neil Gaiman know those 10 episodes barely scratch the surface of the series' potential.

The 75 issues of The Sandman are commonly collected into 10 volumes. So far, the Netflix series has adapted the first two (Preludes & Nocturnes and The Doll's House). In other words, there's plenty more where that came from! Viewers have met Dream (Tom Sturridge), the anthropomorphic personification of storytelling, and much of his supporting cast. But that was just the beginning.

The Sandman has not yet been officially renewed by Netflix for season 2, but showrunner Allan Heinberg tells EW that he is already planning for it.

"We've had a writers' room for season 2 and I'm working on the scripts now," Heinberg says. "Season of Mists is something I'm really looking forward to."

So are we! Wait, what's Season of Mists? Well, that's the title of the fourth volume of The Sandman comic, and its story is set up by the final moments of the season finale. Without spoiling anything for non-readers, let's talk a bit about why the prospect of season 2 is so exciting…

The Sandman
The Sandman

Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) ponders her revenge in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

Season of Mists

The first six episodes of The Sandman feature appearances from colorful characters who mostly don't come back for the rest of the season… but that doesn't mean this story is done with them. Dream humiliated Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) in front of all her demons by beating her at her own game in episode 4, and the final moments of the season finale tease that she still intends on destroying him — one way or another.

"The end of episode one, if we move forward, is Dream saying to Matthew, 'I'm going to Hell and I may not come back,'" Heinberg teases. "So then episode two begins with the rematch between Dream and Lucifer. It's so juicy! I'm so looking forward to doing something entirely different with Gwendoline's look. I don't want to spoil the surprises for people who haven't read Season of Mists, but that's where Dream's trouble really begins."

Comic readers know that Lucifer's challenge to Dream takes an unexpected shape. TV viewers should rest assured that Christie will have lots of meaty material to play — Heinberg is particularly looking forward to her performing the scene where Lucifer sits on a beach watching a sunset.

The Sandman
The Sandman

Ricky Darko/Netflix Nada (Deborah Oyelade) pleads with Dream, a.k.a Kai'ckul (Ernest Kingsley Junior) in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

Characters who briefly appeared in season 1 — like the demon lord Azazel (Roger Allam) or Nada (Deborah Oyelade), the woman Dream sentenced to Hell centuries ago for "defying" him — will have major roles in the Season of Mists storyline. But there will also be power players we haven't even met yet. The Sandman is a big tent!

"I love having cast a lot of these characters already, but obviously we've got Norse gods to cast and Egyptian gods to cast," Heinberg says. "We've got new demons and we've got some returning demons, so it's a party. It's a very ambitious season."

The Sandman
The Sandman

Netflix Barbie (Lily Travers) finds her husband Ken (Richard Fleeshman) being unfaithful in his dreams in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

A Game of You

Like the first season, any potential season 2 of The Sandman would probably cover multiple volumes of the comic. So in addition to Season of Mists, that means we'd see the fifth volume, A Game of You, adapted as well.

This story has already been teased a bit in season 1. Thanks to our resident dream vortex Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai), viewers got a peek at the dreams of her neighbors in the boarding house run by Hal (John Cameron Mitchell). The most important of those is Barbie (Lily Travers), who spends her dreams dressed like a princess and walking a fantasy land accompanied by her animal guardian Martin Tenbones (Lenny Henry).

Barbie becomes the central character of the A Game of You story, which mixes her fantasy dream world (including even more talking animals) with the reality of her new roommates in New York City. One of those new friends, Wanda, is The Sandman's most prominent trans character.

"If we're able to do Game of You, we've got a lot of characters who aren't even human, who are talking animals, who I'm looking forward to meeting," Heinberg says. "Lenny Henry is so good as Martin Tenbones, and I can't wait for the audience to meet Wanda, Foxglove, and Hazel."

The Sandman
The Sandman

Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

Family reunion

For all his power and importance, Dream is just one member of the Endless. We also met three of his siblings in the Netflix series so far: Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Desire (Mason Alexander Park), and Despair (Donna Preston). Viewers who were charmed by them shouldn't worry: They'll all be back over the course of the story.

But there are also more still to meet! The Endless are seven in total, which means Destiny (the eldest), Destruction (who left the family for mysterious reasons and is now referred to as "the prodigal" by the rest), and Delirium (who is downright delightful) are still waiting in the wings.

The Sandman
The Sandman

Netflix Jed (Eddie Karanja) and Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai) greet the new baby of their friend Lyta Hall (Razane Jammal) in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

Children are the future

Now that the dream vortex crisis is resolved, we won't be seeing as much of Rose going forward (though she'll certainly pop up). Her friends, however, still have big parts to play in The Sandman's story. We already discussed Barbie up above, but viewers should also keep an eye on Lyta Hall (Ra) and her new baby. Dream certainly will be...

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content: