Admirers of cult fantasy book series by Philip Pullman His Dark Materials have waited years for a great on-screen version (many discount the broadly panned film variant featuring Daniel Craig).
Now, it appears as though they may just get their dream come true, as filming is well in progress for the upcoming televised version by BBC for the beloved threequel of novels, where Dafne Keen is portraying the fierce, gutsy hero Lyra.
Here is everything you need to know about the fantasy drama web series…
His Dark Materials Season 2 Release Date
The 8-episode web series will ultimately release on HBO in the US and BBC1 in the UK.
Production on the first series ended in December last year, recommending that the episodes might potentially be all set for a 2019 launch. But no launch date has been announced officially.
The first season will cover the events of Northern Lights, the initial novel in the trilogy of His Dark Materials. Production happened predominantly at Wolf Studios Wales in Cardiff, with some filming on location among the dreaming spires of Oxford where the first part of the novel starts.
Jack Thorne, the writer for Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, is on board as a screenwriter, while Tom Hooper (director of The King’s Speech) is leading the project. Philip Pullman claimed he was “looking forward immeasurably to see how it appears.”
HBO His Dark Materials Season 2 Trailer
The latest trailer of the web series was launched at San Diego Comic-Con and displays all kinds of thrilling moments from the novel, comprising a comprehensive look at Mrs Coulter by Ruth Wilson and Lee Scoresby by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Previously, the initial teaser showed a glimpse of some major scenes, an opening to some primary characters, and a peek at the alethiometer, the “Golden Compass” that always directs Lyra to the truth.
HBO His Dark Materials Season 2 Cast
Lord Asriel will be played by James McAvoy, with Ruth Wilson (from The Affair) as the dangerous and magnetic Mrs Coulter.
A Spanish and British child actor best recognized for her role as Wolverine’s daughter in Logan, Dafne Keen, will play Lyra, an orphan who is raised by the scholars and Master of an (imaginary) Oxford college, Jordan.
Stars comprising Georgina Campbell of the Black Mirror, Clarke Peters of The Wire, and Anne-Marie Duff also join the panel as the journalist Adele Starminster, Master of Jordan College, and Ma Costa, respectively. James Cosmo of the Game of Thrones will portray Gyptian Farder Coram.
Also joining the group is the Tony award-winning creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda. She will play explorer and balloonist Lee Scoresby.
Will Keen (Dafne’s father and actor well known for The Crown) will portray Father MacPhail, an unexplained man whom Lyra encounters at a society party in London. Joining him is Lord Boreal (played by Ariyon Bakare).
Concluding the primary cast of Gyptians are Raymond Van Geritt (played by Mat Fraser), John Faa (played by Lucien Msamati), Benjamin de Ruyter (played by Simon Manyonda), and Jack Verhoeven (played by Geoff Bell).
Young actor Archie Barnes plays Daemon Pantalaimon, together with Roger Parslow (played by Lewin Lloyd) and Tony Costa (played by Daniel Frogson). They are joined by Tyler Howitt.
