The Sandman season 2: release date, cast, plot and everything we know

The Sandman season 2 is set to arrive on Netflix in 2025, with Tom Sturridge set to return to the weird and wonderful world of The Dreaming.

Viewers will be desperate to see the new 12-part series and in May 2024 show bosses confirmed Esmé Creed-Miles, Adrian Lester and Barry Sloane will join the cast as fan favorites Delirium, Destiny, and Destruction.

That means the Endless Family have finally been assembled and Netflix even treated us to a exciting teaser (check it out below)...

The first season saw Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), the personification of dreams and one of the seven Endless, captured in an occult ritual in 1916. After being held captive for 106 years, Dream (also Sturridge) escapes and set out to restore order to his realm, the Dreaming.

The show was an instant hit on Netflix and remained in the streaming giant's 'Top 10' list for seven weeks after its release in early August 2022, while also replacing Netflix mega-hit Stranger Things at the top of Nielsen's streaming charts.

A surprise bonus episode was also released two weeks after the initial premiere, to the delight of the millions of fans all over the world who'd enjoyed the show.

Here's everything we know about the highly-anticipated sequel...

The Sandman season 2 potential release date

The Sandman season 2 went into production in November 2023 and filming is due to conclude in August 2024. In May 2024, Netflix confirmed the show would have a release date "projected for sometime in 2025". Once we know more we'll be sure to let you know...

The Sandman season 2 plot

Netflix is calling the follow-up series “a continuation of The Sandman world” which will expand in the next episodes, although episode count and story details are still being kept tightly under wraps.

The 10 episodes of season one covered just 16 issues of DC Comic series' original 75-issue run, with the next installment of The Sandman graphic novel series, titled Season of Mists, considered some of the finest in the entire series. Exciting.

The Sandman season 2 will comprise 12 episodes and will cover the Season of Mists and Brief Lives story arcs from the comics. It’ll also tell a selection of standalone tales, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Song of Orpheus.

An official Netflix synopsis reads...

"When the Sandman, aka Dream (Tom Sturridge) — the powerful cosmic being who controls all our dreams — is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for over a century, he must journey across different worlds and timelines to fix the chaos his absence has caused."

Dream's troublesome family members are set to have a larger role in season two, with Gwendoline Christie's Lucifer working on something particularly diabolical.

"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,'" showrunner Alan Heinberg told EW. "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."

Fans are also wondering whether there could be room for a Game of You storyline, especially if the new season covers more than one graphic novel at a time as season one did.

"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," continued Heinberg. "Lenny Henry is so good as Martin Tenbones, and I can't wait for the audience to meet Wanda, Foxglove, and Hazel."

Why won't new episodes of The Sandman be called 'season 2'?

Netflix have never referred to the follow-up to 2022's hit first series as 'season 2' and Comicbook reported that at Fan Expo San Francisco, Desire actor Mason Alexander Park said the new chapters will arrive "in a really cool way".

"Netflix has not gone on record as calling it a Season 2, on purpose," Park explained. "And so, I will, from now on and in the future, and possibly until the end of the universe not refer to it as Season 2 until we know what it is."

"There is more Sandman coming in a really cool way and it can take many forms, so we're starting shooting in the summer and we're gonna tackle the next huge chunk of stories in however long that might take," Park continued. "And I'm really excited to share the format of what that might be with everybody eventually."

Neil Gaiman on The Sandman season 2

A tweet from Neil Gaiman on the official show account reads as follows...

“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.

“It gives me unbelievable pleasure to say that, working with Netflix and Warner Bros., Allan Heinberg, David Goyer and I will be bringing even more of ‘The Sandman’ stories to life. There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them (not to mention more members of the Endless family to meet).

"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…”

The Sandman season 2 cast

Tom Sturridge will return as Morpheus, while a host of other stars are also expected to return to The Dreaming, including...

* Boyd Holbrook as Corinthian
* Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne
* Mason Alexander Park as Desire
* Donna Preston as Despair
* Patton Oswalt as the voice of Matthew the Raven
* David Thewlis as John Dee
* Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar
* Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine
* Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death

In May 2024 Netflix confirmed a trio of new cast members would complete The Endless Family, with Esmé Creed-Miles (Hanna) as Delirium, Adrian Lester (Trigger Point) as Destiny and Barry Sloane (Passenger) as The Prodigal.

These new names round out the Endless Family as they join Tom Sturridge (he/him) as Dream, Kirby (she/her) as Death, Mason Alexander Park (they/them) as Desire and Donna Preston (she/her) as Despair who are returning from Season 1.

Additional returning cast includes: Ferdinand Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Vanesu Samunyai and Razane Jammal.

The Sandman season 2 trailer

There's no trailer for this one yet, but we'll be sure to post it here as soon as it lands.