The Sandman has returned for what is the second and final season of the drama series starring Tom Sturridge. Join Morpheus (Sturridge) on one more phantasmagorical journey, which began with Volume 1 (six episodes) on July 3 and concluded with Volume 2 (five episodes) on July 24. A special bonus episode will be released on July 31. 

“The Sandman series has always been focused exclusively on Dream’s story, and back in 2022, when we looked at the remaining Dream material from the comics, we knew we only had enough story for one more season,” showrunner Allan Heinberg told Netflix. “We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team back together and giving us the time and resources to make a faithful adaptation in a way that we hope will surprise and delight the comics’ loyal readers as well as fans of our show.”

Keep scrolling for everything you need to know about this season of The Sandman. 

What is The Sandman Season 2 about?

Below, showrunner, executive producer, and writer Allan Heinberg gives a deep dive into what fans can look forward to in the concluding chapter of Dream’s story.

The last season of Sandman did extremely well. Fans clearly loved the show and will be eager to see more. Briefly remind us where we left off last season and tell us where you’ve decided to begin the story this season — and why.
At the end of last season, Dream uncreated the rogue nightmare, The Corinthian, and destroyed the Dream Vortex that threatened to consume his kingdom and our universe. Meanwhile, in Hell, Lucifer and Mazikeen plot their revenge against Dream for having publicly embarrassed them in Episode 4. Finally — in an important coda to the season — Dream came to the aid of his estranged wife, the muse Calliope, with whom he had fallen out over the fate of their son, Orpheus. 

Season 2 begins a few weeks later. After more than a century away from the Dreaming, Dream has been restoring and rebuilding his kingdom. As he transforms the palace, he vows to leave the past behind and look to the future. The past, of course, has other ideas.

As the showrunner and key creative voice, tell us what immediately differentiates this season from last season?
A show like The Sandman takes such a long time to write and design and shoot that sometimes key cast and crew members have other jobs by the time you’re ready to film the next season. But we are fortunate that nearly everyone who worked in front of or behind the camera for Season 1 is back for Season 2. We all learned an enormous amount about the show in Season 1, so getting the same team back together a year or more later allowed us to build on everything we learned and to try to raise our game on every front. 

Design-wise, Dream has a new palace which symbolizes his intense desire to move on from the events of Season 1. Which means his throne room has had a remodel.  As has the outer lobby. We also explore a number of entirely new time periods, worlds, and realms. And all the designs — the sets, the costumes, the props, the VFX — have their roots in the comics.

How has it felt to reunite with the cast, crew, and creative team to bring this final chapter in Dream’s story to life? 
I think we’ve all understood from the beginning that a show like The Sandman is extremely rare. And that we’ve been very lucky to have been allowed to make it.  

Knowing this was our final season — knowing where we were going, story-wise — allowed us to prep and plan to use our time and budget to the fullest.  And to enjoy the process, and each other, as much as possible since we knew this was going to be the last time we’d all be working together to tell this extraordinary and mad and moving story.

Fans of the comics know exactly how Dream’s story comes to a full and complete circle. Will they be in for any surprises when it comes to showing the completion of his arc on screen?
Absolutely. As in Season 1, our adaptation aims to be faithful to the movements of Dream’s story, but in a way that I hope will surprise the book’s loyal fans.

For those who have no idea who the Endless are, how would you briefly define and describe who and/or what they are?
The Endless are the anthropomorphic personifications of the forces for which they’ve been named. They are the living, breathing, loving, spiteful, neurotic, and noble embodiments of destiny, death, dream, desire, despair, and delirium — in (mostly) relatable human form.

How do we see the Endless and their complex relationships evolve and change?
That question is the key theme of The Sandman. The Endless are supposed to be just that: endless. They’re meant to go on in perpetuity. They’re not supposed to change. But change is, of course, inevitable and essential to all life. Which is something Dream refuses to accept — at first. And when one of the Endless changes, it has colossal ramifications for all of us.

There are many new faces popping up this season, and in the teaser, we get a good early look at Delirium (Esmé Creed-Miles), the youngest member of the Endless. Tell us about her.
 Delirium is a fan-favorite character in The Sandman comics. I was a bit intimidated, having to write Delirium because her voice is so specific. I thought it would be difficult, if not impossible, to cast that role, so we were incredibly lucky that Esmé Creed-Miles was available and interested. The moment she opened her mouth in her audition tape, we knew she was Delirium. She was deft — and daft — and simple and true, and we’re all madly in love with her.

What are some of the key themes you were most excited to explore and expand?
This season is about Dream’s having to accept responsibility for his arrogance, for his ignorance, and for his feelings — which he doesn’t even admit to having. But sooner or later, we all have to reckon with the fact that the struggles we face are often of our own making. Dream must now figure out what to do about it.

Where can I watch The Sandman Season 2 trailer?

Everyone loves a good story, but all stories must end. See above for the new trailer, which offers an exhilarating sneak peek at The Sandman’s final chapters. 

Who will be playing the Endless family?

The Endless family from Season 1 will return, including Kirby as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, and Donna Preston as Despair. Season 2 will introduce Dream’s other mysterious siblings, too. “We’ll meet Dream’s eldest brother, Destiny [Adrian Lester]; his younger sister, Delirium [Esmé Creed-Miles]; and the mysterious The Prodigal [Barry Sloane], who abandoned the family 300 years ago — and whom Dream cannot forgive,” says Heinberg. 

Who are the new members in The Sandman Season 2 cast?

“Thanks to our phenomenal casting directors, Lucinda Syson and Natasha Vincent, this season’s cast is every bit as magical as Season 1,” says Heinberg. 

Pulled from The Sandman collections Seasons of the Mist and Brief Lives, the new characters bring more magic and nightmares to the Dreaming. “Each of these characters is as powerful as Dream — nearly as clever — and far more ruthless,” says Heinberg. “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.”

• Ruairi O’Connor (The Morning Show, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) is Orpheus, a poet, musician, oracle, and the only child of Dream and the muse Calliope (last seen in The Sandman, Episode 11). Orpheus is an idealistic, romantic, young man — and very much his father’s son — until tragedy strikes and reveals to him the true nature of love.
• Freddie Fox (The Great, Slow Horses, The Gentlemen) is 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 (The Cursed, Sherlock Holmes, Game of Thrones) plays Odin, the father of Thor, and blood brother of Loki. He is a longtime ally of Dream’s, but finds himself driven to desperate extremes in his efforts to stave off Ragnarök.
• Laurence O’Fuarain (The Witcher: Blood Origin, The Gentlemen) is Thor, the storm god. With his hammer Mjollnir, Thor is brusque, rude, and driven entirely by his appetites for food and drink, battle, and sex.
• Ann Skelly (The Nevers, Death and Nightingales, Red Rock) is Nuala, and Douglas Booth (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Dirt) is 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. Cluracan is an impulsive rogue who lives for pleasure. They disagree about everything, except their devotion to each other.
• Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones, Sex Education) plays 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 (Queen & Slim, Pose, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) plays 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 (Alan Partridge, The Trip) is the voice of Barnabas, the canine companion of the Endless’ Prodigal brother. Barnabas is loyal and loving, but an outspoken cynic. Meaning, he’s both man’s best friend and man’s sharpest critic.

ED MILLER/NETFLIX

Who’s in The Sandman Season 1 cast?

• Tom Sturridge (Being Julia, Waiting for Forever) as Dream, a member of a larger family known as the Endless, immortal beings who rule their own realms
• Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Star Wars) as Lucifer, the lord of Hell
• Boyd Holbrook (Narcos, In the Shadow of the Moon) as the Corinthian, an escaped nightmare who feasts on unfortunate souls
• Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, BoJack Horseman) as Matthew the Raven, Dream’s wise sidekick
• Vivienne Acheampong (Everything Now, Famalam) as Lucienne, the chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream’s realm
• Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Crown) as Roderick Burgess, a charlatan, blackmailer, and magician who tries to entrap Death but accidentally captures Death’s brother Dream instead
• Jenna Coleman (The Serpent, Wilderness) as Johanna Constantine, a tough necromancer and successful occult adventuress for hire
• David Thewlis (Fargo, Big Mouth) as John Dee, a madman on a quest for
  truth that may destroy the world
• Kirby (The Good Place, Barry) as Death, Dream’s wiser and much more sensible sister in the Endless family. She ushers souls to the afterlife.
• Mason Alexander Park (Quantum Leap, Cowboy Bebop) as Desire, Dream’s
  fellow Endless sibling who’s as mischievous as they are sultry
• Donna Preston (Good Omens, Hard Cell) as Despair, Desire’s twin, and Dream’s sister. She’s the bleakest of the Endless.
• Vanesu Samunyai (formerly known as Kyo Ra) as Rose Walker, a young
  woman on a desperate search for her missing brother. She holds immense power that not even she realizes.
• Stephen Fry (Gosford Park, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Gilbert, Rose Walker’s classy protector — a dab hand with a sword cane
• John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) as Hal, a bighearted bed-and-breakfast owner who’s a veritable den mother for the ragtag residents of his Florida estate. But by night, Hal is a drag superstar — in his small-town dive bar at least.
• Asim Chaudhry (Wonder Woman, High & Dry) as Abel, the world’s first murder victim who lives alongside his twin brother Cain in the Dreaming
• Sanjeev Bhaskar (The Kumars at No. 42, The Indian Doctor) as Cain, the first murderer, who still enacts violence on his twin brother, Abel
• Joely Richardson (The Tudors, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Ethel Cripps, Roderick Burgess’ love in the ’20s and ’30s and John Dee’s mother, who plays a vital role in Dream’s fate
• Niamh Walsh (Holby City, Jamestown) as young Ethel Cripps, in her early days with Burgess
• Sandra James-Young (EastEnders, Coronation Street) as Unity Kincaid, an heiress and Rose’s mysterious benefactor. She’s spent a century asleep, but now she’s awake and has missed out on a lot of her life.
• Razane Jammal (Paranormal, Al Thaman, Kira, Carlos) as Lyta Hall, Rose’s friend, a young widow mourning her husband

Can I see new photos and key art for The Sandman Season 2?

You sure can! Check out the above images, which tease a tumultuous adventure ahead as the Kindly Ones come for Dream in the final chapters. 

ED MILLER/NETFLIX

ED MILLER/NETFLIX

Where can I watch a behind-the-scenes video?

Look below for a video dispatch from The Sandman set, in which Sturridge offers insight into the new season. “At the start of Season 2, Dream is in a place of rebuilding,” he says in the video, adding that Dream has to reckon with his past decisions, “the consequences of which are enormous.” 

Heinberg reveals that Dream has more skeletons in his closet. “Dream, having escaped his captivity in the waking world, has reclaimed his stolen tools and missing dreams, and is now focused on rebuilding his realm and attending to his duties,” he says. “That is, until the sins of his past catch up with him and make that impossible.”

Watch a Behind the Scenes Sneek Peek of The Sandman Season 2

Where will Season 2 take place?

Heinberg reveals that audiences will be introduced to new characters from the comics, including Thor, Loki, and Odin in a banquet scene with “divine representatives” from different universes. “It’s a showstopper everywhere you look,” Heinberg says in the video. The new season also ventures further across time and space. “We will visit the underworld of Hades and Persephone, the courtly realm of Faerie, ancient Greece, Elizabethan England, [and] the French Revolution,” says Heinberg. “We will meet demons and fairies and gods and demiurges from across all the realms … and that’s just the first few episodes.”  

The Sandman is made by devotees like Heinberg, says Sturridge in the on-set video: “Fans will be desperately excited by this season. It’s a sight to behold.” 

What is the release date for The Sandman Season 2?

The Sandman Season 2 premiered with Volume 1 (Episodes 1–6) on July 3 and concluded with Volume 2 (Episodes 7–11) on July 24. Plus, catch a special bonus episode on July 31. 

Watch Seasons 1 and 2 of The Sandman now.