The Sandman's bonus episode Dream of a Thousand Cats surprised viewers with its mere existence since no one knew an extra episode was dropping. But a cameo in the animated episode delighted and surprised viewers even more.
The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman, who wrote the original comic book series the show is based on, made a cameo as a crow in the episode, which was directed by Undone's Hisko Hulsing. Digital Spy spoke to Hulsing about his work on the episode and his experience directing Gaiman.
"I am pretty sure that that was his own idea. Here's another thing I can brag about in the pub. I directed Neil Gaiman! But as with all good actors, he didn't need much direction," Hulsing said.
What to Read Next
"I was basically just watching him in a sound booth over Zoom, doing all these variations of his lines. I gave him some small notes, but this guy definitely knows what he is doing."
Hulsing said that screenwriter Catherine S. Mullen, who wrote the episode, kept the story very close to the original comic, but that some "small parts" of the comic weren't absolutely crucial to the story and therefore didn't translate into the episode.
"Generally in animation, when done responsibly, we don't animate anything unless we are sure that it going to end up in the film. It's just too expensive to do that and it is demotivating for the artists to spend all their energy and creativity on a scene to later find out that it has been cut," Hulsing said.
"However, if something wouldn't work, I would definitely cut it, but that didn't happen. The key to any animated story is the storyboards. Once we nailed the moving storyboard and everyone, including Neil Gaiman, Allan Heinberg and David S. Goyer agreed on the main decisions that I made, we stuck to it as much as possible."
Related: Netflix's Sandman has achieved the impossible
Hulsing continued: "Every stage of the process is carefully being prepared before we start once a script is as good as this one, the foundation is so strong that we can rely on it completely."
The Sandman was created by Gaiman alongside Wonder Woman scribe Allan Heinberg and The Dark Knight trilogy writer David S. Goyer. Dream of a Thousand Cats follows the world of several felines, including one voiced by Sandra Oh, who goes around recruiting other cats into dreaming of a world where cats are the dominant species to make it become a reality.
The Sandman season 1 is streaming on Netflix.
The Sandman Volume 1: 30th Anniversary Edition: Preludes and Nocturnes
![American Gods Season 1-3 [DVD] [2021]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1659452330-51g15mIpSPL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "American Gods Season 1-3 [DVD] [2021]")
Reporter, Digital Spy
Jacob is a freelance writer who specialises in narrative TV and film.
He graduated from the University of Roehampton with an MA in Journalism and has written for several publications since, including Gold Derby, Insider, and Screen Daily.
Jacob has covered major events in the world of film and TV, including numerous BAFTA ceremonies and the Cannes Film Festival, while he's also been an awards expert for several publications, including Korea's Arirang. His particular areas of interest include Star Wars, the MCU, the Oscars, and Hugh Grant.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
