{"id":20098,"date":"2022-08-10T19:17:15","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T17:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1692853"},"modified":"2022-08-10T19:51:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T17:51:10","slug":"the-sandman-could-spawn-a-shared-universe-from-constantine-to-lucifer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-sandman-could-spawn-a-shared-universe-from-constantine-to-lucifer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sandman could spawn a shared universe \u2013 from Constantine to Lucifer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 10 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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When a star-studded project like The Sandman comes along, it\u2019s only a matter of time before people start talking spin-offs. In this case, it didn\u2019t take long at all. The epic fantasy series has been streaming on Netflix<\/a> for less than a week and already fans are campaigning for their favourite cast members to get solo projects, with the buzz around Jenna Coleman\u2019s occult detective Johanna Constantine<\/a> being acknowledged by Neil Gaiman himself. Ever the hype man, he was unsurprisingly in favour<\/a> of seeing the sorcerer\u2019s further adventures, but our question is: why stop there?<\/p>\n

Spin-offs are very much part of The Sandman<\/a>\u2018s history, with the main comic book series complemented by several offshoots over the years, many of which were crafted by other writers and artists. Consequently, it\u2019s easy to see the potential for this breakout hit to explode into an incredible shared universe of connected shows, which could be the thing to help Netflix stand up to its rivals, most notably Disney. The House of Mouse currently has franchises that carry far more recognition than anything Netflix has produced, with the one exception being Stranger Things<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But while the Duffer Brothers\u2019 juggernaut sci-fi drama recently dominated streaming viewership, it remains unclear whether the show has a future beyond its upcoming final season. The creators have announced they are exploring spin-off ideas<\/a>, but much of the existing cast will be looking to move on soon and the Upside-Down isn\u2019t going to stay interesting forever. There\u2019s also the small issue that the last time the Duffers attempted a de facto pilot \u2013 season 2\u2019s The Lost Sister \u2013 it was greeted with overwhelming derision. All this to say, when it comes to a shared universe, The Sandman is Netflix\u2019s safer bet.<\/p>

For inspiration, we need only go to the source. There are plenty of companion books to the main Sandman series, some following characters who have already appeared in live-action and others featuring ones we are yet to meet. As mentioned, Coleman\u2019s Constantine has emerged as an early frontrunner, with the character\u2019s vast library of solo stories likely helping the campaign (the original Hellblazer series ran for 300 issues in total).<\/p>\n

Although the character has been gender-flipped and seemingly kicked their smoking habit, this is otherwise a relatively faithful translation of the Constantine fans know from the comics. Her tragic backstory with Astra Logue has already been addressed in The Sandman \u2013 a story which is prominent in early Hellblazer \u2013 along with her bisexuality, which is an important aspect of the antihero\u2019s persona for many fans. The biggest obstacle in getting Coleman her series could be Warner Bros, who have been threatening to add Constantine to the DCEU for years now (via Justice League Dark), and may not want any more competing small screen versions now that the Arrowverse is finally winding down.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, The Sandman\u2019s other associated comics are more disconnected from the wider DC Universe, instead adding extra colour to Gaiman\u2019s distinct corner of it. The writer himself penned two spin-offs for Death, whose popularity has surged following Kirby Howell-Baptiste\u2019s warm-hearted portrayal, making her another strong candidate to go solo. The Sandman also spawned an offshoot titled The Dreaming, which takes a closer look at the unique inhabitants of Morpheus\u2019 realm, including Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong) and feuding brothers Cain (Sanjeev Bhaskar) and Abel (Asim Chaudhry).<\/p>\n