It's Not the Gaiman Allegations—Here's Why Netflix Really Canceled The Sandman

According to co-creator David S. Goyer, the decision to stop at Season 2 was made "more than two years ago." Speaking to Variety, Goyer explained that while the allegations were "really concerning," they didn't play a role in the show's fate. In fact, by the time the news broke, Season 2 was already three weeks from finishing production — and Gaiman wasn't heavily involved in the new episodes anyway.

The real issue? Too much story, not enough Dream.

"One of the concerns about some of the story arcs is that Dream isn't in them very much," Goyer said. "Are we really going to do six episodes where he's barely there?"

Fair question. The Sandman comics ran for 75 issues, but many of those were standalone tales where Dream — aka Morpheus, played by Tom Sturridge — barely showed up. And in adapting them, the team realized how fast they were chewing through material. A lot of the original comics were only 17 pages long, meaning some episodes combined four or five issues just to hit runtime.

Originally, they thought it'd be a four-season arc. Then they did the math:

• Season 1 = 11 episodes
• Season 2 = 12 episodes
• Result: that's basically most of the main comic arc already.

Rather than drag it out, they chose to go big and finish the core story in a longer Season 2, which wraps things up with The Wake — the final arc of the original comic.

Here's how it's going to roll out:

• Part 1: Six episodes, drops July 3, 2025
• Part 2: Final five episodes, drops July 24, 2025
• Bonus Episode: Standalone story starring Dream's sister Death (Death: The High Cost of Living), drops July 31, 2025

So technically, it's not even two seasons — it's 23 episodes across three release dates.

Now, let's address the elephant in the room. While Netflix didn't axe The Sandman because of the allegations, the fallout is affecting other Gaiman projects.

• Good Omens Season 3: scrapped — replaced with a one-off special.
• The Graveyard Book at Disney: canceled in development.
• Spinoffs from The Sandman: Goyer says maybe, but don't hold your breath.

Netflix's decision to let Season 2 air was complicated, as Goyer put it:

"Netflix felt, 'We spent two years making this thing. There's all these actors and writers and directors involved that, if we didn't air it, wouldn't be fully compensated for it.'... But I'd be crazy to say it wasn't weird."

Still, at least we're getting a proper finale. Which is more than a lot of shows can say.