The upcoming adaptation of Sandman has been met with a huge amount of excitement from fans. Creator Neil Gaiman has been appropriately precious about the material, refusing to greenlight any adaptation that didn't do justice to his world. Now that casting news has started to break for the upcoming Netflix series though, some fans have expressed discontent over the casting for the characters Death and Desire.
Desire will be played by Mason Alexander Park while Death will be portrayed by Cruella star Kirby Howell Baptiste. While Desire is clearly non-binary in the comics, there seems to be some irritation that they will be depicted that way on screen. Others have been disgruntled that Death, who is white in the comics, will be played by a Black woman.
And Neil Gaiman would like those folks to know that he doesn't give one single... eff.
"I give all the f---s about the work. I spent 30 years successfully battling bad movies of Sandman." Gaiman said to a follower upset by the casting choices on Twitter. "I give zero f---s about people who don't understand/haven't read Sandman whining about a non-binary Desire or that Death isn't white enough. Watch the show, make up your minds."
I give all the fucks about the work. I spent 30 years successfully battling bad movies of Sandman. I give zero fucks about people who don't understand/ haven't read Sandman whining about a non-binary Desire or that Death isn't white enough. Watch the show, make up your minds. https://t.co/KcNzap8Kt4May 29, 2021
According to Entertainment Weekly, other interactions have occurred where Gaiman continued to call out those who clearly don't understand Sandman or what the story stands for.
When a user asked "Wasn't Desire… always non-binary…??," Gaiman replied, "Well, yes. But you'd have to have read the comics to know that. And the shouty people appear to have skipped that step."
In short, it seems Sandman's creator is coming into this new adaptation with the exact energy he should be.
