The Sandman. Tom Sturridge as Dream in episode 203 of The Sandman. Cr. Courtesy Of Netflix © 2025
It’s official, folks! Netflix’s adaptation of DC Comics’ The Sandman will end with its second season in July 2025. The 11-episode season has been split into two parts: Volume 1 will release on July 3, and Volume 2 will follow on July 24. Was season 2 always the plan to end the fantasy series, as Netflix has said, or do we believe others who say it’s a convenient excuse to cancel? Let’s investigate!
After over two years of waiting, fans of The Sandman finally have a release date for the final season. Netflix has confirmed that the show’s endgame season begins with a batch of 6 episodes on July 3rd and concludes with five more episodes on July 24th. We’ve previously reported that the final season consists of 12 episodes, so it’s likely that the season has been condensed, or another bonus episode is in the pipeline (we dive into that below).
The official synopsis for the final season reads: “In Netflix’s The Sandman Season 2, Dream of the Endless — after a fateful reunion with his family — must face one impossible decision after another as he attempts to save himself, his kingdom, and the waking world from the epic fallout of his past mistakes.”
The final season features a stacked cast. Among the star-studded ensemble cast for season 2 are the arrivals of some big names, including Steve Coogan, Freddie Fox, Barry Sloane, Jack Gleeson, Adrian Lester, and many more. You can check out our comprehensive cast list here.
Was The Sandman canceled because of Neil Gaiman?
Of course, it’s easy for viewers to presume that the show has been prematurely cancelled due to the sexual misconduct allegations against Neil Gaiman, the author of the original comics. The allegations came to light during the podcast Master from Tortoise Media in mid-2024. In January 2025, New York Magazine published an article detailing the horrific, sickening acts of the author, and the eight women — including four new victims — who came forward with allegations against him.
The knock-on effect saw Disney halt production on Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book adaptation. In addition, Amazon paused development of Good Omens Season 3 (which has since been re-worked to be a movie conclusion). Gaiman departed Good Omens for good in October 2024. A stage production Coraline – A Musical was cancelled amid the news, too. Even comics publisher Dark Horse formally announced that they’d severed all connections with Gaiman, cancelling their graphic novel adaptation of Anansi Boys midway through its run. The list of cancelled projects goes on.
This brings us to The Sandman. While Allan Heinberg, who serves as showrunner, created Netflix’s The Sandman, Neil Gaiman, served as an executive producer on season 1 and also for season 2. He played a significant role in the show’s production. Gaiman’s influence extended far beyond the production; he actively participated in the marketing campaigns. He shared tidbits and engaged in discussions about the show on social media.
The allegations against Gaiman came out when season 2 was midway through production. Filming had been taking place on Durdle Door beach, with Tom Sturridge (Dream) and Ruairi O’Connor (Orpheus) being spotted on set. By that time, the scripts would’ve been locked in, and it’s very highly likely that the timeline of the show would’ve been worked out. This was all before any allegations against Gaiman had been mentioned.
Moreover, showrunner Allan Heinberg himself is on record as saying that there was enough story left to tell one more season. Back when the news of the series ending was confirmed in January, Heinberg explained that it was part of the plan. “‘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,” he told Variety. “We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team all 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.”
The Sandman. Tom Sturridge as Dream in episode 201 of The Sandman. Cr. Courtesy Of Netflix © 2025
More recently, following the season 2 release date announcement, Heinberg reaffirmed that ending the show with its second season was a planned conclusion. This allowed him and the team to have an ending to work towards:
“I think we’ve all understood from the beginning that a show like The Sandman is extremely rare. And that we’ve been very lucky to have been allowed to make it. Knowing this was our final season — knowing where we were going, story-wise — allowed us to prep and plan to use our time and budget to the fullest. And to enjoy the process, and each other, as much as possible since we knew this was going to be the last time we’d all be working together to tell this extraordinary and mad and moving story.”
Back when the series was renewed, Netflix did not confirm that season 2 would be the conclusive season. Rather, the streamer marked the renewal as “a continuation” based on “multiple volumes” of the comics. We have since learned that the final season skips over a lot of content. Based on casting and content we’ve seen so far, the main storylines being covered are Season of Mists, Brief Lives, and The Kindly Ones. Of course, in true Sandman fashion there will be plenty of short stories weaved into the narrative, including The Song of Orpheus, Thermidor, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Adding to all of that is the fact that it became clear from set leaks that things were wrapping up the main story. Back in July 2024, set leaks suggested that the crew were already barrelling towards some of the later comics. Given that scripts are not written overnight, these episodes would’ve been written months in advance.
Will there be a surprise episode 12 in The Sandman season 2?
For many months now, we’ve understood that the final season of The Sandman would contain 12 episodes. When the announcement confirmed 11-episodes, we were naturally a little surprised. It seems like the original plan was for twelve episodes, but it’s entirely possible that the season has been condensed down to eleven. However, we can’t help but speculate the idea that there may be another bonus episode around the corner.
Look no further than season 1, which surprised fans with a bonus eleventh episode, releasing just over a week after the season dropped. The bonus episode told two standalone stories; A Dream of a Thousand Cats & Calliope. We know that the final season filmed spinoff story Death: The High Cost of Living. It would make sense for that to be told in its own episode. We know the story is being covered regardless.
In addition, the show could also conclude with Overture, the final graphic novel of the main run, which serves as a prequel to Preludes & Nocturnes. Back when season 1 was being filmed, the team actually filmed scenes that would be used in the event that the show would reach Overture.
It’s well worth keeping an eye out for how news of a twelfth episode develops. We’ll keep you posted!
Are you excited for The Sandman season 2? Tell us in the comments down below!
Rating: TV-MA
