Latest news with #AllanHeinberg
Geek Tyrant
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
THE SANDMAN Season 2 Images Reveal Puck and Destruction; Showrunner Breaks Down the Casting Choices — GeekTyrant
Netflix's The Sandman is gearing up for its second and final season, and fans have been given their first look at two major characters making their debut: Jack Gleeson as Puck and Barry Sloane as Destruction. The newly released images tease what's ahead, and showrunner Allan Heinberg shares his enthusiasm about the cast. The upcoming season will adapt several pivotal stories from Neil Gaiman's iconic comic, including 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'The Song of Orpheus.' Alongside the returning Tom Sturridge as Dream, the season introduces the remaining Endless siblings — Destiny, Delirium, and Destruction, as well as a handful of mythological figures. Gleeson's Puck might come as a surprise to fans expecting the traditional trickster. Heinberg described him as something much more layered. Heinberg told Entertainment Weekly: 'He brings sexiness to it and mischief and psychology and heart. I have a tendency to write to the actors playing these parts, and I think our Puck is a very different Puck from the comics, but also from the Puck that I would've written for any other actor.' Gleeson will appear in the episode adapting A Midsummer Night's Dream, a standout single-issue story where Dream collaborates with Shakespeare himself. As for Barry Sloane's Destruction, or the Prodigal, fans should brace for something unexpected. Heinberg said much of the dialogue is lifted directly from the comic, but casting Sloane wasn't just about finding someone who could embody an immortal force. 'He has such a lightness of touch, and he's such a loving human. That's really what we were looking for in casting this role. You think of Destruction, especially as he's presented in the comics during The Song of Orpheus story, as the ultimate destroyer of worlds. 'His story in the comic, and in our show as well, is actually a soul that's in conflict. He wants to create, he doesn't want to destroy. So you need an actor who is so full of love and so full of joy and yet looks like the archetypal soldier.' In addition to Puck and Destruction, Season 2 brings in a robust lineup of new characters. Adrian Lester steps in as Destiny, Esmé Creed-Miles as Delirium, and Ruairi O'Connor as Dream's son Orpheus. The Norse pantheon is also coming into play, with Laurence O'Fuarain as Thor, Freddie Fox as Loki, and Clive Russell as Odin. Rounding out the cast are Ann Skelly as Nuala, Douglas Booth as Cluracan, Indya Moore as Wanda, and Steve Coogan lending his voice to Barnabas the dog. The Sandman Season 2 will roll out in two parts. The first six episodes drop on July 3, 2025, with the final five following on July 24.
Geek Tyrant
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
THE SANDMAN's Two-Season Run Was 'Always the Plan,' Says Showrunner, But Fans Still Have Questions — GeekTyrant
Netflix's The Sandman is preparing to bow out this summer with its second and final season, and according to showrunner Allan Heinberg, that was the plan all along. Even if the timing of the announcement made some fans raise an eyebrow. When Netflix first renewed the hit adaptation in 2022, the streamer hyped a growing 'Sandman world' and teased more stories drawn from Neil Gaiman's iconic graphic novels. What the announcement didn't do was offer any specifics, like how many seasons viewers could expect. That lack of clarity has left some fans feeling blindsided by the revelation that the upcoming second season is the end of the road. Then came January 2025. Just as headlines began swirling around Gaiman, who denied allegations of sexual abuse, Netflix confirmed that The Sandman would conclude with Season 2. Some assumed the controversy may have prompted a creative pivot or early cancellation. But Heinberg insists that's not the case, he told Variety: '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.' Now, with the show's return just weeks away, Heinberg is doubling down. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said: 'It was a decision we made three years ago.' He acknowledged the awkward optics of Netflix's timing, announcing the end of the series just as Gaiman-related controversy was growing, but emphasized that the creative plan hadn't changed. 'I can't say that it affected our process, which is scheduled years in advance. It's been in the periphery of my experience and the background of my experience, but it hasn't been part of the world of the making of the show, if that makes sense. Every production is its own little island.' Still, the rollout has felt to some fans like the kind of tidy PR positioning studios fall back on when external complications arise. The situation echoes the path taken by Good Omens , another Gaiman-driven project. That show opted for a single 90-minute special instead of a full third season, and Gaiman stepped back from production altogether. Whether or not viewers buy the "two-season plan" pitch, The Sandman's endgame is now locked in. Season 2 will release in two parts, with the first on July 3, and the finale on July 24. As Morpheus prepares for his final on-screen chapter, audiences will be watching to see how the story ends, and how the show will close out under a cloud of controversy and curiosity.
