Netflix Geeked Week Trailer Features New Looks At Sandman, The Gray Man, And More

I feel like Netflix is doing the real-life equivalent of Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) from "The Naked Gun" standing in front of a blazing building and telling a group of horrified onlookers, "Nothing to see here! Please disperse!" After losing billions of dollars in stock value, laying off multiple employees, and being hit with a lawsuit by investors over the last few weeks, the streaming service is trying to steer the conversation away from its many business woes and onto its annual Geeked Week.

Launched in 2021, Netflix's Geeked Week is a five-day virtual event that celebrates (per its official description) "Netflix's genre slate with exclusive news, sneak peeks, talent panels and more from our genre films, series, and games." 2022's iteration will take place in early June, and will offer first looks at some exciting projects coming later this year. Most intriguingly, the trailer for Geeked Week 2022 includes some brand-new footage from Netflix's "The Sandman" TV series, culminating with a shot of a beaming Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, ruler of Hell.

"The Sandman" is based on the acclaimed, genre-blending comic books written by Neil Gaiman from 1989 to 1996, and chronicles the sweeping tale of Dream aka Morpheus, the king of dreams and one of the seven Endless (ageless beings that embody the forces of nature). The show has been in the works for a very long time, and has Gaiman serving as an executive producer and co-writer along with David S. Goyer ("Krypton," "Foundation") and Allan Heinberg (co-creator of the "Young Avengers" comic books and co-writer of 2017's "Wonder Woman" film). Joining Tom Sturridge as Dream/Morpheus and Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer is a cast stacked with talent, including Kirby Howell-Baptiste ("Killing Eve," "The Good Place") as Dream's sister Death, Jenna Coleman ("Doctor Who") as John Constantine's ancestor Johanna Constantine, comedian Patton Oswalt as the voice of Dream's raven associate Matthew, and many, many more.

Apologies for getting sidetracked on "The Sandman" (can you tell I'm a fan of Gaiman's comics?), but it's very much the centerpiece of this Geeked Week trailer. Other upcoming Netflix projects highlighted here include the long-awaited "Stranger Things" season 4 and the "Resident Evil" TV show, as well as the newest seasons of the comic book adaptations "The Umbrella Academy" and "Sweet Tooth." Also featured is "The Gray Man," the new action-thriller directed by the Russo brothers (who helmed a handful of superhero movies you may've heard of) and starring Ryan Gosling opposite an evil, scheming Chris Evans and his mustache.

Personally, besides "The Sandman," I'm most excited to get a fresh look at Netflix's animated feature films "The Sea Beast" and "Wendell and Wild." The former marks the solo directing debut for "Big Hero 6" and "Moana" co-director Chris Williams, with the latter being Henry Selick's first stop-motion animated movie since "Coraline" in 2009. Netflix's animation division has emerged as an innovative alternate to mainstays like Disney and Pixar in recent years, which only makes its recent layoffs all the more painful.

Geeked Week 2022 will take place from June 6-10, 2022.