Neil Gaiman has confirmed that Ferdinand Kingsley has been cast as Hob Gadling in Netflix's upcoming adaptation of The Sandman.
We had heard rumors that the Mank actor was in line to play the fan-favorite character, and Gaiman made it official during a recent interview with Empire, adding that he feels Kingsley perfectly embodies the version of Hob he dreamt up (no pun) all those years ago.
“I will say of Ferdie that […] more than anything else that we've done, except possibly Stephen Fry as Gilbert, it's exactly the thing and the performance that I had in my head 35 years ago,” he says. “It's just like, ‘Oh, there you go, there's Hob Gadling’. So Ferdie rocks.”
Gaiman reveals that Kingsley will debut as Hob in the sixth episode, which he describes as “the most feel-good and lovely” instalment.
In the comics, Hob Gadling is a human who simply decides that death is something he wants no more part of, and winds up becoming immortal. He is one of Morpheus' (Tom Sturridge) only true friends, and meets up for a drink with the Dream King every 100 years.
The Sandman also stars Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Game of Thrones alum Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Logan actor Boyd Holbrook as sadistic escaped nightmare The Corinthian, Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) as black magician Roderick Burgess, and Asim Chaudhry (Black Mirror) and Sanjeeve Bhaskar (Yesterday) as Abel and Cain, respectively.
We recently learned that Desire and Despair will be played by Mason Alexander Park and Donna Preston, respectively, while Joely Richardson will play Ethel Cripps, and David Thewlis will take on the role of her son John Dee, aka the deranged Dr. Destiny. Jenna Coleman will play John Constantine's great-great-great grandmother, Lady Johanna Constantine.
The 11-episode first season of The Sandman is expected to adapt the first arc of the Vertigo comics series, "Preludes and Nocturnes." No premiere date has been announced.