The Sandman: Neil Gaiman defends casting of non-binary and Black actors in Netflix adaptation
‘I give zero f***s about people who don’t understand/haven’t read Sandman whining about a non-binary Desire or that Death isn’t white enough’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Neil Gaiman has spoken out in defence of the casting for the forthcoming Netflix adaptation of his acclaimed comic book series The Sandman.
It was announced last week that the non-binary character Desire would be played by non-binary actor Mason Alexander Park, and Death, who is drawn as white-skinned in the comics, will be played by The Good Place star Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who is Black.
After one Twitter user wrote that Gaiman didn’t “give a f***”, the writer tweeted back a blistering response.
“I give all the f***s about the work,” he wrote. “I spent 30 years successfully battling bad movies of Sandman. I give zero f***s about people who don’t understand/haven’t read Sandman whining about a non-binary Desire or that Death isn’t white enough.
“Watch the show, make up your minds,” he added.
Another fan tweeted at Gaiman asking: “Wasn’t Desire… always non-binary…??”
The author replied, “Well, yes. But you’d have to have read the comics to know that. And the shouty people appear to have skipped that step.”
The Sandman ran from January 1989 to March 1996, and was originally created by Gaiman alongside artists Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg.
Netflix’s adaptation features a cast which includes Gwendoline Christie and Tom Sturridge.
The adaptation, hitherto said to be “unfilmable”, is currently in production with no release date yet announced.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments