While audiences await the long-awaited live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman’sThe Sandmangraphic novels series, Audible has now released a new trailer for the audio adaptation, giving audiences their first snippet of James McAvoy in the starring role.
Though McAvoy’s is the only voice featured in the trailer, anall-star cast has been amassed for Audible’s adaptationof the classic DC/Vertigo comic book. TheX-Men: First ClassandSplitstar James McAvoy takes on the lead role of Morpheus the Lord of Dreams, a god-like entity accidentally summoned from his slumber by an occultist trying to bring forth Morpheus’s sibling Death. His sister, Death, will be played byThor: The Dark WorldandBig Mouthstar Kat Dennings. The rest of the cast includes Gaiman’sGood Omensstar Michael Sheen as the devilishly popular DC character Lucifer andKingsman: The Secret Servicestar Taron Egerton as the paranormal investigator John Constantine, a character who, if recent reports are to be belied, will soon be receiving his own live-action reboot.
As if that were not already the stuff of dreams, the series will also starDoctor Who’sArthur Darvill as William Shakespeare,Harry Potteractress Miriam Margolyes as Despair,War for the Planet of the ApesandLord of the Ringslegend Andy Serkis as Matthew the Raven, andVenomstar Riz Ahmed as the nightmare The Corinthian. Also joining the main cast will be Justin Vivian Bond (Desire), William Hope (Doctor John Dee), Mathew Horne (Hob Gadling), Reginald D. Hunter (J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter), Sue Johnston (Unity Kinkaid), Paterson Joseph (The Demon Chronzon) and Josie Lawrence (Mad Hettie).
Neil Gaiman will be executive producing the series as well as providing his voice as The Narrator.The Sandman’sfirst installment will be available from August 14, 2025, and will adapt the first three volumes of the graphic novels, which are comprised of the comic book arcsPreludes & Nocturnes,The Doll’s House, andDream Country.
The Sandmanoriginally ran for 75 issues from 1989-1996 and follows the main character Dream, also known as Morpheus among other names, a conceptual entity struggling with his place in the universe. He is one of the seven Endless, with the other Endless being Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, formerly Delight, and Destruction. Really, The Sandman is a story about stories, how important they are, and how they can evolve, and how Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, is captured and subsequently learns that sometimes change is inevitable.
“When an occultist attempts to capture thephysical embodiment of Deathin a bargain for eternal life, he instead mistakenly traps Death’s younger brother Dream (McAvoy), another of the seven god-like siblings known as the Endless who oversee aspects of human existence, including Desire and Despair, Destiny, Destruction, and Delirium,” reads Audible’s description of the series. “After 70 years of imprisonment Dream finally escapes, embarking on a quest to reclaim his lost objects of power and rebuild his kingdom, the world of sleep and imagination called the Dreaming. So begins one of the most acclaimed and successful series of graphic novels ever written.”
There are also plans tobring The Sandman to live-action lifeon Netflix, with the show all ready to go until current global circumstances brought the entertainment industry to a standstill. Audible’sThe Sandmandebuts July 15. This comes to us fromDC.
