Why isn’t Tom Ellis playing Lucifer in The Sandman?

It might have taken a few years for it to happen, but The Sandman season1 has finally made its way to Netflix! The first season dropped on Aug. 5 and has quickly gotten audiences talking for a number of reasons, both good and bad.

Among the many conversations unfolding now that the season has arrived is the choice to bring in Game of Thrones vet Gwendoline Christie to play the role of Lucifer instead of bringing back actor Tom Ellis, who played the character across six seasons of Lucifer. 

Given Lucifer was based on The Sandman comics, hailed from the same studio as The Sandman and also aired on Netflix, one would have assumed Ellis would have been the natural first choice to play the character in The Sandman series. After all, his portrayal of the character is one that earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike who surely would have flocked to The Sandman for Ellis alone.

So why didn’t Netflix cast Ellis in the role of Lucifer in The Sandman?

Why doesn’t Tom Ellis play Lucifer in The Sandman?

While it might seem like a no-brainer to bring Tom Ellis into the fold to reprise his role as Lucifer in The Sandman, the decision not to bring Ellis back as Lucifer in The Sandman was connected to a hope to bring a fresh narrative to the show and to keep fans on their toes.

As Neil Gaiman told a fan on Twitter when asked about the casting move, the growth of Lucifer as a character over the course of the show put the character in a very different place in terms of continuity to The Sandman comics. Rather than blurring the lines between the two shows, it was decided to bring a new Lucifer into the mix by going back to one that is more reflective of the Lucifer from the comics.

"“Because his Lucifer, while inspired by the Lucifer in Sandman, is so far away in terms of Sandman continuity by the end of LUCIFER, that it’s easier on everyone to go back to the version in the comics. And this way you don’t know what our Lucifer is going to do. Tom’s is lovable.” – Neil Gaiman on recasting Lucifer for The Sandman"

The Sandman season 1 is streaming now on Netflix.