‘The Sandman’ to End With Season 2: Why It’s Ending, Premiere Updates & More

Kelli Boyle February 3, 2025, 11:45 am

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'The Sandman' final season poster — Netflix

The Sandman will end with Season 2 at Netflix. Despite the recent sexual assault allegations against The Sandman author/executive producer and writer Neil Gaiman, two seasons were reportedly always the plan for this onscreen adaptation.

The Sandman is based on Gaiman’s comics of the same name. It first debuted on Netflix in August 2022. Showrunner Allan Heinberg told Variety that they “knew we only had enough story for one more season” that year.

“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,” Heinberg told Variety on Friday, January 31.

The series reportedly planned to make Season 2 its last before filming for it began in 2023. The Friday announcement also included new plot information about the upcoming episodes. Here’s everything we know about the final season.

Why is The Sandman ending?

Netflix

Variety reports that The Sandman has been planning for Season 2 to be its last since 2023.

“We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team all back together and giving us the time and resources to make a faithful adaptation in a way that we hope will surprise and delight the comics’ loyal readers as well as fans of our show,” Heinberg’s statement said.

Gaiman is credited as an executive producer and writer on the second season. Gaiman was first accused of sexual assault and misconduct on a podcast that came out in summer 2024. A January 2025 investigative report in Vulture revealed new allegations and details. In the time since the podcast’s release, Gaiman left Good Omens and it was announced that the Prime Video series’ final season would be one 90-minute episode instead of a full season. A Broadway adaptation of his book/movie Coraline was also scrapped following the allegations. Gaiman denied the allegations against him.

When does The Sandman Season 2 premiere?

An official release date will be announced at a later time, but the final season is confirmed to come out in 2025 on Netflix.

What happens in The Sandman Season 2?

The Sandman Season 2 is based on the “Season of Mists” and “Brief Lives” storylines from the Gaiman comics. This story sees Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) abdicate control of Hell and present Morpheus Dream (Tom Sturridge), with the key to Hell’s gate, “causing many immortals to try to convince Morpheus to give the key to them,” per Variety.

“Dream, having escaped his captivity in the waking world, has reclaimed his stolen tools and missing dreams, and is now focused on rebuilding his realm and attending to his duties,” Heinberg told Tudum of Season 2. “That is, until the sins of his past catch up with him and make that impossible.”

“It’s a showstopper everywhere you look,” Heinberg says in the behind-the-scenes video above. “We will visit the underworld of Hades and Persephone, the courtly realm of Faerie, ancient Greece, Elizabethan England, [and] the French Revolution … We will meet demons and fairies and gods and demiurges from across all the realms … and that’s just the first few episodes.”

Who is in The Sandman cast?

Sturridge stars in the fantasy series as Morpheus/Dream, who in the Season 1 finale battled Lucifer for regained control of his realm. The other Endless siblings seen in Season 1 were Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire, and Donna Preston as Despair. The group is completed with the additions of Adrian Lester as Destiny, Esmé Creed-Miles as Delirium, and Barry Sloane as the Prodigal in Season 2, Netflix announced on May 20.

“We’ll meet Dream’s eldest brother, Destiny [Adrian Lester]; his younger sister, Delirium [Esmé Creed-Miles]; and the mysterious The Prodigal [Barry Sloane], who abandoned the family 300 years ago — and whom Dream cannot forgive,” Heinberg told Tudum.

“Each of these characters is as powerful as Dream — nearly as clever — and far more ruthless,” he added. “Together, they will ensnare Dream in a web of palace intrigue, glamour, demon battles, and spider-sex. None of which Dream is prepared for; all of which transform him into a far more dangerous Dream of the Endless.”

'The Sandman' Author Neil Gaiman Denies Sexual Assault Allegations: 'I Have Never Engaged in Non-Consensual Sexual Activity'

Christie, Patton Oswalt (Matthew the Raven), Vivienne Acheampong (Lucienne), Jenna Coleman (Johanna Constantine), Ferdinand Kingsley (Hob Gadling), Stephen Fry (Gilbert), Asim Chaudhry (Abel), Sanjeev Bhaskar (Cain), Vanesu Samunyai (Rose Walker), and Razane Jammal (Lytta Hall) are all returning in their previous roles for the second season.

Ruairi O’Connor has joined as Orpheus, the poet, musician, and oracle who is the only child of Dream and the muse, Calliope (last seen in Episode 111). Orpheus is described as an idealistic, romantic, young man who is very much his father’s son, until tragedy strikes and reveals to him the true nature of love.

Freddie Fox plays Loki, the god of chaos who is a charming, seductive shapeshifter. Loki is the smartest and most dangerous person in any room—and utterly irresistible and never to be trusted. Clive Russell is Odin, the father of Thor, and blood-brother to Loki. He is a longtime ally of Dream’s, but finds himself driven to desperate extremes in his efforts to stave off Ragnarök. Laurence O’Fuarain plays THOR, the storm god. With his hammer Mjollnir, Thor is brusque, rude, and driven entirely by his appetites—for food and drink, for battle, and for sex.

Ann Skelly‘s Nuala and Douglas Booth‘s Cluracan are royal emissaries from the court of Faerie. The siblings are opposites in every way: While Nuala is responsible, empathetic, and principled, Cluracan is an impulsive rogue who lives for pleasure. They disagree about everything, except their devotion to one another.

Jack Gleeson plays Puck, a malevolent hobgoblin who serves as the royal jester to King Auberon of Faerie. He is fascinated by mortals, enjoys nothing more than making sport of them for his own amusement, and is the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Indya Moore‘s Wanda is a professional driver and security agent for an exclusive travel firm. Wanda proves herself to be an indispensable guide on an Endless road trip to the waking world.

And Steve Coogan voices Barnabas, the canine companion of the Endless’s prodigal brother. Barnabas is loyal and loving, but an outspoken cynic. He’s man’s best friend and man’s sharpest critic.

Is there a trailer for The Sandman Season 2?

There is no official trailer for Season 2 just yet, but Netflix released behind-the-scenes look at Season 2 in September. See the video above.

The Sandman, Season 2 Premiere, 2025, Netflix

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.