Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

Like waking up from a nightmare, fans of Netflix’s adaptation of ‘The Sandman’, created by Neil Gaiman, have now learned the good news: the streaming service has renewed the show for a second season.

The news broke unexpectedly and – we’d have to assume – not in the fashion that Netflix would have preferred, as a tweet about the renewal from the official DC Comics account went online earlier than planned.

It was since confirmed by both Gaiman (via his own tweet) and Netflix.

‘Sandman’, for those who might be unfamiliar, was a 75-issue DC/Vertigo comics series published in the 1990s. Gaiman's own one-line synopsis was: “The lord of dreams learns that one must change or die, and makes his decision,” yet the sprawling series takes in pantheons and mythologies from across the globe, via threads about fantastical quests, serial killers, road trips, and short stories only tangentially connected to the core narrative. Many tales featured Dream's siblings, the Endless: Destiny, Death, Destruction, Despair, Desire, and Delirium. There are some characters – such as members of his own family – who are happy to see Dream return, while others are not so sure this is a good thing.

“Millions upon millions of people have welcomed and watched and loved ‘The Sandman’ on Netflix, from established ‘Sandman’ fans to people who were simply curious, and then became obsessed with the Lord of Dreams, his family and their goings-on,” Gaiman said in a statement.

Season 1 only covered roughly two of the 10 trade paperbacks that make up the majority of the ‘Sandman’ story. Which means there is a wealth of material still to bring to screens.

Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Morpheus / Dream and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in Netflix's 'The Sandman.'

“There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them (not to mention more members of the Endless Family to meet),” Gaiman continued. “Nobody is going to be happier about this than the ‘Sandman’ cast and crew: They are the biggest Sandman fans there are. And now it’s time to get back to work. There’s a family meal ahead, after all. And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell…”

Unlike ‘Good Omens’, Gaiman wasn’t the showrunner on ‘Sandman’, though he was deeply involved (including co-writing the first episode). Show boss Allan Heinberg will also be back for the new season.

“I’m profoundly grateful to Netflix and to Warner Bros. — to the artists and crew who made our first 11 episodes so magical — and to the extraordinary fans of ‘The Sandman’ who advocated tirelessly — endlessly — on the show’s behalf and made it possible for us to continue telling Morpheus’ story,” showrunner Heinberg tells Netflix’s Tudum blog.

Given the complexity of the show, we can’t imagine it’ll be back before 2024, but at least we know it’ll be back.

Tom Sturridge as Dream in 'The Sandman.'

Tom Sturridge as Dream in 'The Sandman.' Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2021.