BBC One is producing a TV adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, from the former producers of Doctor Who.
BBC One is teaming up with HBO, New Line, and former Doctor Who producers, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, to make an initial eight-part series adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, perhaps better known by The Golden Compass (Northern Lights, in the U.K.), The Subtle Knife, and theAmber Spyglass.
The His Dark Materials TV show will see its first two episodes directed by Les Miserables' Tom Hooper from scripts by The Cursed Child/Star Wars IX writer Jack Thorne. The cast is already shaping up impressively, with James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, and Lin-Manuel Miranda serving as headliners.
Pullman previously lauded the project stating, “I’m delighted that the production is under way, and I’m looking forward immensely to seeing how it looks. Bad Wolf [the production company partnered with New Line] has assembled a wonderful cast and I’m sure every HDM reader is as keen as I am to see it all coming together.”
Production on Season 1 has officially wrapped. The show made the official announcement via its Twitter page, with this adorable tweet...
Here's a bonus tweet from Bad Wolf saying goodbye to Lin-Manuel Miranda on his final day of filming for Season 1...
His Dark Materials TV Show Trailer
Here's a brief first look at the His Dark Materials TV show. Famous people galore!
His Dark Materials TV Show Release Date
While there is no official release date yet for the His Dark Materials TV show, it is expected to air on BBC One in the UK and HBO in the U.S. sometime in 2019.
His Dark Materials TV Show Cast
The last of the casting for His Dark Materials casting is complete!
James McAvoy has been cast as Lord Asriel, the cutthroat explorer and uncle to Lyra, with The Affair's Ruth Wilson cast as Marisa Coulter, Asriel's former lover and a glamorous adventurer who invites Lyra along on her adventures. The Wire's Clarke Peters has been cast as the master who raised Lyra at Oxford's Jordan College.
It had previously been announced (via Deadline) that Logan star Dafne Keen has been cast as star Lyra in the TV adaptation, with Lin-Manuel Miranda cast as Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby.
Ariyon Bakare (Life, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) joined the cast of His Dark Materials to play a major role, reported Deadline. He will play Lord Boreal, the character who serves as an antagonist in the novels. In his claim to infamy, Boreal inveigles Lyra (Ruth Wilson) with the illusion of safety from pursuers, subsequently stealing her alethiometer (a compass-type device used to discern the truth). Tellingly, his daemon is a lavishly decorated serpent with an emerald head and black eyes surrounded by gold rims.
Georgina Campbell will play journalist Adele Starminster. Campbell, who co-stars on Syfy’s renewed DC prequel TV series Krypton as Lyta-Zod, has also notably appeared on Netflix's Black Mirror in the episode, “Hang the DJ,” and on the third and final season of ITV’s Broadchurch. She was also recently seen on the big screen in director Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Ian Gelder will play Librarian Scholar Charles. Gelder is best known for his role on HBO Game of Thrones as Kevan Lannister, having also banked a recent run on Crackle’s Snatch TV series, as well as EastEnders and Ripper Street. He also fielded a notable run back in 2009 on Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, as well as a film role in the 2009 Vatican drama, Pope Joan. Ruta Gedmintas has been cast (The Strain) as Serafina Pekkala.
Rounding out the new cast arrivals are actors set to play the nomadic boat-dwelling Gyptians, who take Lyra (Ruth Wilson) into the North…
Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless) as Ma Costa.
James Cosmo (Game of Thrones – Jeor f***ing Mormont!) as Farder Coram.
Lucien Msamati (Game of Thrones – Salladhor Saan) as John Faa.
Geoff Bell (Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Jack Verhoeven.
Simon Manyonda (Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories) as Benjamin de Ruyter.
Mat Fraser (American Horror Story) as Raymond van Geritt.
His Dark Materials TV Show Episodes
His Dark Materials was initially given a an 8-episode inaugural season, Deadline soon reported that His Dark Materials Season 2 has already been ordered. Indeed, the second season will manifest within another 8-episode frame.
The Season 2 news is no big surprise, since Walesonline reported about a multi-season deal, shaping the series to comprehensively cover the entirety of Pullman's story, explaining, "The deal will see forty episodes shot across five series." Sounds great to us.
His Dark Materials Synopsis
Here's the official His Dark Materials synopsis from the BBC...
His Dark Materials is one of the supreme works of imaginative fiction for both children and adults published in the 20th century. Northern Lights [The Golden Compass, in the U.S.] introduces Lyra, an orphan, who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra's search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.
In The Subtle Knife she is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds and leads to a thrilling conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.
His Dark Materials writer Jack Thorne spoke to Radio Times in April 2017 about whether or not there will be major changes from the book, saying this is "not something I can tell you about yet." The narrative room a TV show gives the story as compared to the feature film would allow more of the source material to be presented. (Notably, the feature film changed the ending of the first book. It was a terrible decision, completely gutting the thematic power of the book.)
Thorne elaborated:
I mean, the most important thing is being loyal to the books, and trying to tell those books as well as we possibly can,” he said ... The advantage of television is we can slow down. In the film and on stage they had so much plot to get through, so much plot to churn through, whereas we’ve got the luxury of having time to get to know [lead character] Lyra, and spend time in her world.
Thorne released a statement on what drew him to the adaptation that certainly gives fans of the book hope that the trilogy will be adapted in a way that capture the imagination and darkness of the stories better than the 2007 New Line effort did:
It is such an honor and a privilege to be given this opportunity to delve into Philip Pullman's world. What I always loved about Bad Wolf's intentions with this project was the notion of sounding every note. The His Dark Materials trilogy are vast and glorious books full of beautiful characters and I'm going to work as hard as I can to try and do justice to them.
Pullman's trilogy, comprising The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, takes place in a universe of "daemons," polar-bear warriors, witches, magical instruments, and theological philosophy. It's previously been adapted for film, radio and theatre, but this will be the first TV version of the world of its singular hero, Lyra Belacqua.
Philip Pullman had this to say:
In recent years we've seen how long stories on television, whether adaptations (Game of Thrones) or original (The Sopranos, The Wire), can reach depths of characterization and heights of suspense by taking the time for events to make their proper impact and for consequences to unravel. And the sheer talent now working in the world of long-form television is formidable.
For all those reasons I'm delighted at the prospect of a television version of His Dark Materials. I’m especially pleased at the involvement of Jane Tranter, whose experience, imagination, and drive are second to none. As for the BBC, it has no stronger supporter than me. I couldn't be more pleased with this news.
We'll keep this hub updated with all the new information on the His Dark Materials TV show as it becomes available.