Without warning, Netflix just released a double episode of “Sandman” this morning. While we await the official announcement of a renewal for a season 2, the Lord of Dreams leaves for a new adventure, “A dream of a thousand cats / Calliope”.
We were telling you about it just yesterday: Sandman has dominated Netflix’s top series since the launch of its first season of 10 episodes at the beginning of the month. The Lord of Dreams is now back with a special surprise episode, adaptation of two independent stories from Neil Gaiman’s graphic novels, The Sandman.
The episode arriving today includes an animated adaptation of the story “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” and the other in live action of “Calliope”. The first is directed by Hisko Hulsing, known for his work on the very beautiful Prime Video series called Undone.
Louise Hooper directs “Calliope”, in collaboration with production designer Gary Steele. Hooper previously directed the first season finale, “Lost Hearts,” as well as two episodes of Netflix’s Witcher. Catherine Smyth-McMullen wrote the script for the episode.
Here is the tweet that announces the surprise:
“Surprise ! A two-part bonus episode of Sandman – based on the stories Calliope and A Dream of a Thousand Cats – is now on Netflix“
In both episodes, Tom Sturridge takes over the role of Dream. For the part “A dream of a thousand cats”, a certain number of actors come to lend their voice among which Sandra Oh, Neil Gaiman himself, James McAvoy (who interprets Dream in the audio adaptation of The Sandman from Audible) , David Tennant and Michael Sheen.
“We have endeavored to make the animated version of “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” as mesmerizing and hypnotic as possible using the magic of real oil paintings on canvas.“, said Hisko Hulsing in a press release that reports comic book.
“We combined the paintings with classically drawn 2D animation based on realistic 3D animation of telepathic cats to create a trippy world that is both realistic and dreamlike. Untold Studios in London created the stunning 3D animation of the cats. The wonderful 2D animation, oil paintings and stylization were all done at Submarine Studios in Amsterdam.“
Sandman is currently available on Netflix.