James McAvoy, Kat Dennings worry about the dead in this The Sandman: Act II exclusive clip
James McAvoy and Kat Dennings star in Audible's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman
TV News The Sandman
Neil Gaiman’s comic book series The Sandman, published by DC, launched in 1989. Now, over 30 years later, the author is narrating the multi-part Audible original audio series based on his popular graphic horror mythology novels. The first installment released in 2020. James McAvoy voices the lead role of Dream a.k.a. Morpheus, and Kat Dennings plays his sister, Death.
The second installment, The Sandman: Act II, returns in September 2021 with 21 new episodes. The story will resume as Act II expands into the French Revolution, Ancient Rome, 19th-Century San Francisco, 8th-century Baghdad, and beyond. It will adapt the collected volumes titled Seasons Of Mist, A Game Of You, and most of Fables & Reflections.
In this exclusive clip, McAvoy and Dennings bring their comedic chops to the dark drama. Morpheus wants advice from his sister. Gaiman, in his narration, describes Death as having a “pale face with dark eye makeup and lipstick, her black hair toussled.”
Death is in too much of a hurry to help her brother, who needs help after a recent visit to Hell, during which Lucifer handed the reins of down under to Morpheus. What should he do next? Death’s sarcastic suggestions include: “Open a skiing resort? Turn it into a theme park? Sell it to the highest bidder?” Honestly, a Hell-themed amusement park and rides sound like a great idea. The clip ends with Morpheus and Death realizing they better come up with ideas fast, because apparently, the dead are coming back.
The Sandman: Act II’s cast also includes Michael Sheen and Andy Serkis, who reprise their roles as Lucifer and Matthew the Raven from the first installment. Their fellow voice actors form quite the star-studded lineup, like Jeffrey Wright, Regé-Jean Page, Brian Cox, Emma Corrin, John Lithgow, David Tennant, Bill Nighy, Kevin Smith and Kristen Schaal.
The first installment is currently available for free on Audible, Amazon Music, and through Alexa enabled devices through October 22. Act II premieres on September 22.
18 Comments
I like this show fine, but as far as audio adaptions of DC Comics go, it’s nowhere near as good as the 1940s Superman radio show.
For my money, the pinnacle of the form was the nineties’ radio serialisation of Batman’s “Knightfall” arc. It was the absolute business.
Only if you could hold on for next week’s “exciting” episode where nothing happens. Just like this week’s episode. For my money I’d rather listen to Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, Dragnet, Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke, or any episode of Escape. Yes… I have spent hundreds of hours driving and listening to XM radio.
Superman is a lot more childish than all those shows, certainly, but it goes down so easy for me. It’s perfect for afternoon of cleaning the garage or whatever. It’s also perfect for my 3-year-old son, who gets so excited every time they say the word “Superman.” The name “Sgt. Friday” just doesn’t have the same effect on him.
I get it and agree.. He isn’t ready for the floozy found dead down at the docks.Hopalong Cassidy is pretty good too.
The “Yours Truly Johnny Dollar” series was stonking stellar.
“handed the reigns of down under”? He has to rule Australia as some kind of punishment?
It kind of tracks. https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Dreaming-Australian-Aboriginal-mythology
Kat Dennings is a solid choice for Death (maybe she could sound less annoyed and more cheerful but given the context of the clip I guess it’s fine) but I always imagined Dream’s voice to be a bit more sonorous.
I always thought he’d sound like Christopher Lee
I mean no disrespect to the art of the podcast, but how many people listen to this?
Probably enough to make it profitable, considering that audio drama is extremely cheap to produce.
I do!
There are a lot of great voice talents tied to the adaptation but my favorite casting, even if it’s just for a handful of lines, is Sian Phillps as Livia in the adaptaton of “August”
I take it you’ve seen I, Claudius?
Yep
Despite being completely faithful to the text, this comes off WAY lighter than the comic.
I like all of these actors…… as actors, but this “picking famous actors for voice actors” thing sucks. There’s so many fantastic voice actors, and the difference is painfully noticeable. And no amount of “atmospheric noise” can cover that up.