Character Death
Written by Neil Gaiman
Other cast James McAvoy, Taron Egerton, Andy Serkis
Release date 2020 (Act I), 2021 (Act II)
Running time 11 hrs and 2 mins (Act I), 13 hrs and 47 mins (Act II)
The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. It tells the story of Dream, also known as Morpheus and other names, who is one of the seven Endless. The other Endless are Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium (formerly Delight), and Destruction. The series is famous for Gaiman’s trademark use of anthropomorphic personification of various metaphysical entities, while also blending mythology and history in its horror setting within the DC Universe.
In 13 May 2020, author Neil Gaiman revealed the cast of the audiobook. Kat will voice Death and will be joined by other actors such as James McAvoy and Taron Egerton.
Kat’s participation came as an invitation by Neil himself, whom she’s a fan of. She told The New York Times, “I don’t know if this was a compliment or not, but he was like, ‘Just be you,’ I was like, what are you saying? But he was like, ‘She’s very sweet. She’s very bubbly. She’s the opposite of all things around her.’ I wouldn’t call myself bubbly but I guess I have my moments.” She worked on this project during the coronavirus pandemic, considering it a blissful distraction from these harsh times we’re living.
This first instalment of the audio series The Sandman adapts volumes 1 (Preludes & Nocturnes), 2 (The Doll’s House), and 3 (Dream Country) of the graphic novel series. Death first appeared in The Sandman Volume 2, Issue #8, “The Sound of Her Wings” (August 1989).
Previously tied to Marvel through her participation in the MCU as Darcy Lewis, this series also puts Kat on the map of DC Comics.
The second instalment debuted on September 22, 2021. It adapts volumes 4 (Season of Mists) and 5 (A Game of You), and most of volume 6 (Fables & Reflections).
The third instalment debuted on September 28, 2022.
Episode guide
The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes & Nocturnes Contains issues 01 to 08. In volume one, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. After his 70 year imprisonment and eventual escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine, and an all-powerful madman.
Kat appears in episode 08, “The Sound of Her Wings”.
The Sandman Volume 2: The Doll’s House Contains issues 09 to 16. In this second volume, after a decades-long imprisonment, the Sandman has returned to find that a few dreams and nightmares have escaped to reality. Looking to recapture his lost possessions, Morpheus ventures to the human plane only to learn that a woman named Rose Walker has inadvertently become a dream vortex and threatens to rip apart his world. Now as Morpheus takes on the last escaped nightmare at a serial killers convention, the Lord of Dreams must mercilessly murder Rose or risk the destruction of his entire kingdom.
Kat appears in episode 10, “Men of Good Fortune”.
The Sandman Volume 3: Dream Country Contains issues 17 to 20. The third volume of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. In each of these otherwise unrelated stories, Morpheus serves only as a minor character. Here we meet the mother of Morpheus’s son, find out what cats dream about, and discover the true origin behind Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream.
Kat appears in episode 19, “Façade”.
The Sandman Volume 4: Season of Mists Contains issues 21 to 28.
Kat appears in episode 1, “Prologue”, episode 4 “Chapter Three” and episode 5 “Chapter Four”.
The Sandman Volume 5: A Game of You Contains issues 32 to 27.
Kat appears in episode 17, “Chapter 6. I Woke Up and One of Us Was Crying”.
The Sandman Volume 6: Fables & Reflections Contains issues 29 to 31, 38 to 40 and number 50.
Kat appears in episode 11, “Distant Mirrors: Three Septembers and a January” and episode 20 “Convergence. The Parliament of Rooks” (as Li’l Death. It is her voice, just made to sound like a child’s.)
The Sandman Act III – adapted stories to be added.
Kat appears in episode 1, “The Song of Orpheus”, episode 6 “Brief Lives Part 3”, episode 9 “Brief Lives Part 6”, episode 11 “Brief Lives Part 8”. episode 17 “World’s End – The Golden Boy” and episode 18, “World’s End – Cerements”.
Death
Death is Dream’s elder sister and the second oldest of the Endless. She loves her job and takes it very seriously. Death, by her own admission, was not always who she now is. At the beginning of time, she thought she had the hardest job among the Endless, and it made her unhappy – so sad, in fact, she stopped doing it. When nothing died, chaos reigned, and she was begged to return to her realm. She did so, but she became “hard and cold and brittle inside.” Her demeanor didn’t change until she was asked by one she collected; “How would you like it?” After that she resolved to live for one day as mortal to see how she liked it, and what she could learn. It was only after her taste of mortality that she altered the way she thought about her job. She decided that at the end, most would be glad for the company of a friend, and that was what she tried to become.