AUDIBLE AND DC ANNOUNCE POWERHOUSE CAST FOR HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ‘THE SANDMAN’

James McAvoy Leads Outstanding Ensemble in First-Ever Audio Adaptation Which Also Includes Riz Ahmed, Justin Vivian Bond, Arthur Darvill, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, William Hope, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Andy Serkis, and Michael Sheen

With Narration by Neil Gaiman, Author of The Sandman Graphic Novels

Set to Debut July 15, 2020 Exclusively On Audible for Millions of Listeners

NEWARK, NJ – May 13, 2020 – Audible Inc., the world’s largest producer and provider of spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks, today announced the star-studded cast of the first-ever, exclusive audio adaptation of New York Times best-selling graphic novel series, The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC. Adapted and directed by Dirk Maggs and narrated by Gaiman, who serves as creative director and executive producer, the powerhouse cast is led by James McAvoy in the title role of Dream and includes Riz Ahmed, Justin Vivian Bond, Arthur Darvill, Kat Dennings as Death, Taron Egerton, William Hope, Josie Lawrence, Miriam Margolyes, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Andy Serkis, and Michael Sheen as Lucifer, and an expansive list of additional cast. The first installment of the multi-part original audio drama series is set for release on July 15, 2020 and adapts volumes 1-3 of the graphic novel series (Preludes & Nocturnes, The Doll’s House, and Dream Country).

When an occultist attempts to capture the physical embodiment of Death (Dennings) in a bargain for eternal life, he instead mistakenly traps Death’s younger brother Dream (McAvoy), another of the seven god-like siblings known as The Endless who oversee aspects of human existence, including Desire (Bond) and Despair (Margolyes), Destiny, Destruction and Delirium. After seventy years of imprisonment Dream finally escapes, embarking on a quest to reclaim his lost objects of power and rebuild his kingdom, the world of sleep and imagination called The Dreaming. So begins one of the most acclaimed and successful series of graphic novels ever written.

David Blum, Editor-in-Chief of Audible Originals, commented: “A truly exceptional cast of artists will be bringing this cultural phenomenon to life. We are honored to be working alongside Neil Gaiman and DC to create a truly immersive adaptation that we know fans and listeners will love.”

Gaiman’s long-time audio collaborator, multi-award winner Dirk Maggs, shares executive producer credit and also serves as the project’s scriptwriter and director. Maggs is best known for his landmark audio adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Stardust, Good Omens and Anansi Boys, as well as for the renowned Audible Originals Alien: River Of Pain and The X-Files and the celebrated DC audio productions The Trial of Superman, Batman: Knightfall, and Superman: To Doomsday & Beyond. In addition to the rich, cinematic soundscape that has become Maggs’ trademark, The Sandman also features an original score by Academy Award-winning composer and musician James Hannigan.

The Sandman is the latest in a series of best-in-class Audible Original audio dramas released by Audible in recent months. Other highlights include Assassin’s Creed: Gold, The X Files starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light starring Yara Shahidi, and Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Musical Drama starring Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton and Theo James.

The Sandman is available for pre-order now and will exclusively premiere on Audible.com/TheSandman on July 15, 2020 in English, and will subsequently be released in French, German, Italian, and Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish editions.

# # # #

About Audible, Inc.

Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the world’s largest producer and provider of spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible content includes more than 525,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers.

About DC

DC is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics and graphic novels in the world and home to some of the most iconic and recognizable characters ever created.  As a creative unit of WarnerMedia, DC is charged with strategically integrating its stories and characters across film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, interactive games and the DC UNIVERSE subscription streaming service.  For more information, visit dccomics.com

About Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author and creator of books, graphic novels, short stories, film and television for all ages, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The View from the Cheap Seats, and The Sandman comic series published by DC. His fiction has received Newbery, Carnegie, Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards.  Gaiman was the writer and showrunner for the Emmy-nominated mini-series adaptation of Good Omens, based on the book he co-authored with Sir Terry Pratchett; his novel American Gods, has also been adapted to a critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated TV series. His audiobooks have won 5 Audie Awards and frequently appear on the NYT Audio Bestseller List.  In 2017, he became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Originally from England, he lives in the United States, where he is a professor at Bard College.

About Dirk Maggs

Dirk Maggs writes and directs immersive, densely layered audio stories that fire the imagination. At the BBC, his groundbreaking ‘audio movies’ featuring DC Comics’ Superman and Batman dazzled Douglas Adams, who asked Dirk to bring The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy back to its original home, BBC Radio. In the last decade, Dirk has worked closely with his friend Neil Gaiman to adapt and direct prestige BBC versions of Neverwhere, Stardust and Neil and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens. For Audible, Dirk adapted and produced The X-Files, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, and four epic audio adventures set in the Alien universe. Dirk’s many awards include Audies, Writers Guild, Sonys, Talkies, British Fantasy Society and two New York Festivals Gold Medals. Dirk is an Honorary fellow of the University of Winchester, and he was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts by Bournemouth University.