If you thought you were done with Netflix’s ‘The Sandman‘ until it (presumably, but not confirmed yet!) returns for a 2nd Season, the streaming service dropped a surprise today! A brand new two-part bonus episode with some new, but very familiar faces!
“Episode 11” is a two-part bonus episode that features the animated story of “A Dream of A Thousand Cats” and the live-action story “Calliope”. Both parts are available right now.
The live-action part, “Calliope”, features Tom Sturridge back as Dream, alongside Melissanthi Mahut (‘The Other Me’, ‘Assassin’s Creed’ games) as Calliope, Arthur Darvill (‘Doctor Who’, ‘Legends Of Tomorrow’) as Richard Madoc, Kevin Harvey (‘Time’) as Larry, Amita Suman (‘Shadow and Bone’) as Nora, and the legendry Derek Jacobi as Erasmus Fry. Also returning are Nina Wadia as Fate Mother, Souad Faress as Fate Crone, Dinita Gohil as Fate Maiden. Louise Hooper directed the live-action portion.
The voice cast for “A Dream of A Thousand Cats” is not too shabby either, with Sturridge as Dream, Sandra Oh (‘Killing Eve’) as The Prophet, Rosie Day (‘McDonald & Dodds’) as The Tabby Kitten, David Gyasi (‘Carnival Row’) as The Grey Cat, Joe Lycett (random, but okay!) as The Black Cat, Neil Gaiman as Crow/Skull Bird, James McAvoy (‘X-Men’) as Golden-Haired Man, Nonso Anozie (‘Sweet Tooth’) as Wyvern, Diane Morgan (aka Philomena Cunk) as Gryphon, and Tom Wu (‘Strangers’) as Hippogriff. Gaiman has also roped in the husband/wife/partner teams of David Tennant as Don & Georgia Tennant as Laura Lynn, with Michael Sheen as Paul and Anna Lundberg as Marion.
“We endeavoured to make the animated version of ‘A Dream of a Thousand Cats’ as mesmerizing and hypnotic as we could by utilizing the magic of real oil paintings on canvas,” said Hisko Hulsing, who directed the animated section. “We combined the paintings with classically drawn 2D animation, based on realistic 3D animation of telepathic cats in order to create a trippy world that feels both grounded and dreamy at the same time. Untold Studios in London created the breathtaking 3D animation of the cats. The wonderful 2D animation, oil paintings and stylizing were all done at Submarine Studios in Amsterdam.”
The bonus episode is a surprise drop for fans who have been long-awaiting additional stories from The Sandman universe. The Sandman reigns #1 on the Netflix Top 10 TV list (English) for a second week in a row, amassing 196.98 Million hours viewed since its debut (Aug 5 – 14). The series also appeared in the Top 10 in 93 countries.
‘The Sandman‘ Episode 11, along with the entire first season is available on Netflix right now.
