The Dreaming Expands: New Faces in The Sandman’s New Season!
Remember back in May when we spilled the tea on the new faces who’d be joining the cast of The Sandman to complete the Endless Siblings? Well, it seems like these ethereal siblings — Dream (Tom Sturridge), Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Desire (Mason Alexander Park), Despair (Donna Preston), Destiny (Adrian Lester), Delirium (Esmé Creed-Miles), and The Prodigal (Barry Sloane) — are about to get some company.
Today, Netflix announced the new faces who are joining the Dreaming. Straight from The Sandman collections Seasons of the Mist and Brief Lives, the new characters promise to bring even more magic and nightmares to the Dreaming.
Executive producer Allan Heinberg teased, “Each of these characters is as powerful as Dream — nearly as clever — and far more ruthless. Together, they will ensnare Dream in a web of palace intrigue, glamour, demon battles, and spider-sex. None of which Dream is prepared for; all of which transform him into a far more dangerous Dream of the Endless.”
So, who are these new dream-weavers and nightmare-bringers? Drum roll, please…
Ruairi O’Connor as Orpheus — The poet, musician, oracle, and the only child of Dream and the muse, Calliope (Melissanthi Mahut). Orpheus is an idealistic, romantic young man — very much his father’s son — until tragedy strikes and reveals the true nature of love.
Freddie Fox as Loki — The god of chaos. Loki is a charming, seductive shape-shifter. The smartest and most dangerous person in any room, Loki is utterly irresistible and never to be trusted.
Clive Russell as Odin — The father of Thor, and blood-brother of Loki. Odin is a longtime ally of Dream’s but finds himself driven to desperate extremes in his efforts to stave off Ragnarök.
Laurence O’Fuarain as Thor — The storm god. With his hammer Mjollnir, Thor is brusque, rude, and driven entirely by his appetites for food, drink, battle, and sex.
Ann Skelly as Nuala and Douglas Booth as Cluracan — Royal emissaries from the court of Faerie. Nuala and Cluracan are siblings who are opposites in every way. Nuala is responsible, empathetic, and principled, while Cluracan is an impulsive rogue who lives for pleasure. They disagree about everything, except their devotion to each other.
Jack Gleeson as Puck — A malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie. Puck is fascinated by mortals and enjoys nothing more than making sport of them for his own amusement. He’s also the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Indya Moore as Wanda — A professional driver and security agent for an exclusive travel firm. Wanda proves herself to be an indispensable guide on an Endless road trip to the waking world.
Steve Coogan as the voice of Barnabas — The canine companion of the Endless’s Prodigal brother. Barnabas is loyal and loving but an outspoken cynic. Meaning, he’s both man’s best friend and man’s sharpest critic.
And there you have it, folks! These are the new faces joining the Dreaming. Along with them, we’ll see the return of some of our favorites: Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Ferdinand Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Vanesu Samunyai, and Razane Jammal.
Are you as excited about the new episodes of The Sandman as we are? We can hardly wait! The first batch of episodes showed us that this show is a fantastic adaptation of a very complex world, and we’re eager to see how these new characters shake things up. Watch this space for more updates about The Sandman!
All 11 episodes of Season 1 of The Sandman are available to stream on Netflix. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Courtesy of Netflix
