Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ quietly releases surprise episode

“The Sandman” viewers were in for a wild surprise on Friday at midnight when they were treated to a new episode on Netflix.

The Neil Gaiman series had previously released its 10-episode first season earlier this month.

The new episode is a mix of live-action and animated scenes, taking content from Gaiman’s “Sandman” DC Comics graphic novels: “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” and “Calliope.”

“A Dream of a Thousand Cats” is the cartoon chunk of the show, with actor Tom Sturridge as his lead “Sandman” role as Morpheus/Dream.

The guest voice cast members include Sandra Oh as The Prophet, Rosie Day as The Tabby Kitten, David Gyasi as The Grey Cat, Joe Lycett as The Black Cat and Gaiman himself as Crow/Skull Bird.

“X-Men” star James McAvoy came on Golden-Haired Man along with “Doctor Who” alum David Tennant as Don, Michael Sheen as Paul and Nonso Anozie as Wyvern.

“We endeavored to make the animated version of ‘A Dream of a Thousand Cats’ as mesmerizing and hypnotic as we could by utilizing the magic of real oil paintings on canvas,” Hisko Hulsing, who directed the animated segment, noted in a statement.

“We combined the paintings with classically drawn 2D animation, based on realistic 3D animation of telepathic cats in order to create a trippy world that feels both grounded and dreamy at the same time,” Hulsing added.

As for the live-action portion, “Calliope,” Sturridge is back alongside guest actors Melissanthi Mahut as Calliope, Arthur Darvill as Richard Madoc, Nina Wadia as Fate Mother, Souad Faress as Fate Crone and Derek Jacobi as Erasmus Fry.

Gaiman created the comic books series and it was published from 1989-1996. 

The plot follows Morpheus as he is captured in an occult ritual in 1916 and was held captive for 106 years. Once he escapes, he tried to restore power and order to his universe, called The Dreaming.