'The Sandman': Why is Netflix series not a part of DC Universe? Creator Neil Gaiman responds
The highly-anticipated live-action version of ‘The Sandman’ has finally made its way to Netflix and fans are in awe of the streaming platform for beautifully adapting Neil Gaiman’s best-selling comic-book series. If you have been a fan of the ‘Sandman’ comics, then you know that the characters in the comics are a part of the DC Universe. However, the Netflix series is a bit different than the comic-book series and has less connection to the DC Universe as compared to the comics.
As far as comics are concerned, a lot of DC characters such as John Constantine, Martian Manhunter, and Doctor Destiny made several appearances over the years. Although these characters are not a part of the Netflix series, it does feature characters like Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) and John Dee (David Thewlis). A lot of people believe that Dee’s character was similar to Doctor Destiny, but he looked way different than the version of the character we saw in the comics. So, not connecting the show to a larger DC Universe was done purposefully?
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‘The Sandman’ creator Neil Gaiman recently opened up about the Netflix series and didn’t shy away in answering the question about the show’s link to the DC Universe. While talking to Variety, Gaiman stated the Netflix series did not contain any reference to the large DC Universe because he didn’t want fans to expect that ‘Justice League’ would show up during the first season.
“‘The Sandman’ itself started out in the DC Universe, the comic, and then it just sort of wound up wandering off into its own place. Its world joined up more and more with our world and became less and less a world in which costumed crime fighters fly around and so on, which meant that by the time ‘The Sandman’ finished, it had its own aesthetic which really wasn’t the DC Universe anymore,” said Gaiman.
The creator also made it clear that he didn’t want to complicate things by introducing a larger universe and confuse the viewers. He added, “We didn’t want a TV show where you felt that you had to have read a whole bunch of comics published in 1988 and 1989 to understand what was going on.”
The first season of ‘The Sandman’ has been met with positive reviews and critics as well as audiences are showering praise on the show's magnificent storytelling. It is a beautifully rendered and riveting horror thriller series with the potential to be a huge hit if it returns for another run. As of now, Season 1 of ‘The Sandman’ currently holds a rating of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. On the other hand, it has a viewer rating of 88% on the website mentioned above.
‘The Sandman’ Season 1 is available for streaming on Netflix.
