The Sandman Season 2: Netflix Reveals Final Chapter Release Date

Netflix’s The Sandman returns this summer for its final chapter. Season 2 Volume 1 (six episodes) drops July 3, followed by Volume 2 (five episodes) on July 24.

The second and last season will close out Dream’s arc, wrapping up the live-action adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s comic. Watch the announcement teaser below. Netflix also released a new poster and first-look images.

What to Expect From The Sandman Season 2

Season 2 picks up shortly after the end of Season 1. Dream (Tom Sturridge) has rebuilt his kingdom and tries to move forward. But the past catches up fast — Lucifer and Mazikeen are still plotting revenge, and Dream’s complicated history with his family and son Orpheus is far from resolved.

The new season pulls heavily from the Seasons of Mist and Brief Lives arcs of the comics, featuring more gods, demons, and dysfunctional family drama among the Endless.

Who’s Returning and Who’s New?

The core cast from Season 1 is back:

Tom Sturridge as Dream
Kirby as Death
Mason Alexander Park as Desire
Donna Preston as Despair
Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, the lord of Hell

This season introduces more of Dream’s siblings:

Adrian Lester as Destiny
Esmé Creed-Miles as Delirium
Barry Sloane as The Prodigal

Other new faces include:

Ruairi O’Connor as Orpheus, Dream’s son
Freddie Fox as Loki
Clive Russell as Odin
Laurence O’Fuarain as Thor
Ann Skelly and Douglas Booth as Nuala and Cluracan from Faerie
Jack Gleeson as Puck
Indya Moore as Wanda
Steve Coogan as the voice of Barnabas, a talking dog

Where the Story Goes

Expect settings that range across time and space:

Hades and the underworld
The realm of Faerie
Ancient Greece
Elizabethan England
The French Revolution

Showrunner Allan Heinberg told Netflix that the final season is about Dream reckoning with his arrogance, emotional repression, and mistakes — themes pulled straight from the comics.

“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 said. “We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team 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.”

Netflix’s Adaptation Strategy

Showrunner Allan Heinberg says they always planned for two seasons. Season 2 was crafted with a definitive end in mind. While staying close to the comics, it still aims to surprise longtime readers.

“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 Netflix. “We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team 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 also noted that nearly all cast and crew returned, allowing them to build on what they learned from Season 1. Dream’s palace gets redesigned to reflect his internal shift, and the scale of design and visual effects has expanded.

“A show like The Sandman takes such a long time to write and design and shoot that sometimes key cast and crew members have other jobs by the time you’re ready to film the next season. But we are fortunate that nearly everyone who worked in front of or behind the camera for Season One is back for Season Two. We all learned an enormous amount about the show in Season One, so getting the same team back together a year or more later allowed us to build on everything we learned and to try to raise our game on every front,” he said.

Regarding the redesign, Heinberg added, “Design-wise, Dream has a new palace which symbolizes his intense desire to move on from the events of Season One. Which means his throne room has had a remodel. As has the outer lobby. We also explore a number of entirely new time periods, worlds, and realms. And all the designs — the sets, the costumes, the props, the VFX — have their roots in the comics.”