New Dark Fantasy Series On Netflix Series Has One Of Biggest Ever Budgets In History

A new dark fantasy series is arriving on Netflix – called The Sandman, it comes from mind of Neil Gaiman, the writer behind American Gods, Good Omens and many others, and the new series has a seriously huge budget. Check out the teaser trailer below:

If there's one thing that Netflix does well, it's helping you escape into another world.

From The Witcher to Sabrina, the streaming service knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat and in between realms.

Now, The Sandman looks set to be no exception, and the highly anticipated 2022 release has the budget to back it up.

Based on the bestselling Neil Gaiman comic book series created for DC, the story centres on the immortal embodiment of people's dreams – and we'll give you one guess what his name is...

Netflix

Morpheus. Bet you didn't see that one coming, right?

He's also called the Sandman but we think his given name is way more fun.

DC Comics explains that the story centres on a 'vast hallucinatory landscape housing all the dreams of any and everyone who’s ever existed'. It continues: "Regardless of cultures or historical eras, all dreamers visit Morpheus’ realm – be they gods, demons, muses, mythical creatures or simply humans who teach Morpheus some surprising lesson."

The series is sure to thrill fans, with a typical Gaiman-esque premise of a magical figure having more than a few flaws. Or, as a synopsis for the series reads: "The Lord of Dreams has been summoned, and captured, by mortal men. Once free from his captivity, this eternal ruler of Dreams will realize that his troubles are only just beginning."

And if those troubles were money-related we certainly see why, because the series budget was $165 million.

Yep, a reasonable amount.

Netflix

Still, the cost is a small price to pay if the series is as successful as other fantasy stories on the platform, withThe Witcher reaching 76 million households in its first few weeks, as Digital Spy reports.

And, in comparison, The Witcher had about half the budget of The Sandman, at $70-80 million for the first season.

The new series set to star Tom Sturridge as the Sandman, Gwendolyn Christie as Lucifer, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Asim Chaudhry as Cain and Abel.

Writer Gaiman is also determined to keep you entertained throughout the series, with the writer explaining that each episode is as varied as the characters.

"You watch Episode 1 and think, ‘Oh, I get this thing: it’s like Downton Abbey, but with magic," he told Empire.

"Then you’ll be wondering, ‘What the hell is this?’ by Episode 2, when you’re meeting Gregory The Gargoyle in The Dreaming. Episode 5 is about as dark and traumatic as anything is ever gonna get, then you’ve got Episode 6, which is probably the most feel-good of all the episodes."