The BBC and Bad Wolf have shared a whole lot of info about His Dark Materials, the upcoming TV adaptation of Philip Pullman’s much-loved series of fantasy novels.
As well as unveiling the clapperboard image above and confirming that filming has begun on His Dark Materials, the Beeb shared this lengthy plot summary/cast roundup through the official BBC Media Centre:
“Dafne Keen takes on the lead role of Lyra, the young protagonist of the story who lives in Jordan College, Oxford. Placed there at the request of her Uncle, Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) she lives a sheltered life amongst the scholars and college staff while under the watchful protection of The Master (Clarke Peters) and Librarian Scholar Charles (Ian Gelder).
“When the glamorous and mesmeric Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) enters Lyra’s life she embarks upon a dangerous journey of discovery from Oxford to London. Here she meets Father MacPhail (Will Keen), Lord Boreal (Ariyon Bakare) and journalist Adele Starminster (Georgina Campbell) at a glittering society party where she first hears about the sinister General Oblation Board.
“Lyra is subsequently thrown into the nomadic world of the boat dwelling Gyptians – Ma Costa (Anne-Marie Duff), Farder Coram (James Cosmo), John Faa (Lucien Msamati), Raymond Van Geritt (Mat Fraser), Jack Verhoeven (Geoff Bell) and Benjamin de Ruyter (Simon Manyonda) who take her North in her quest.
“Once in the North she meets charismatic aeronaut and adventurer Lee Scoresby (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who joins them on their epic journey and who becomes one of Lyra’s closest allies.
“Talented young actors joining the cast include Lewin Lloyd as Roger Parslow, Daniel Frogson as Tony Costa, Tyler Howitt as Billy Costa and Archie Barnes as Pantalaimon.”
The series was written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter And The Cursed Child) and directed by Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), Dawn Shadforth (Trust) and Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders). Filming is taking place in Cardiff, with the Doctor Who alums at Bad Wolf teaming with New Line Cinema to produce the star-studded series.
The Beeb’s massive press release also included this quote from Pullman himself:
“I’m delighted that the production is under way, and I’m looking forward immensely to seeing how it looks. Bad Wolf has assembled a wonderful cast and I’m sure every HDM reader is as keen as I am to see it all coming together.”
And this quote from Thorne:
“His Dark Materials are the most beautiful set of books, taking us into a world of constant imagination. Reading them I was a massive fan, in adapting them I’ve increasingly felt in awe of them. It’s the constant invention, the way the story never sits still, and that the characters constantly surprise you. It’s been a joy being part of a creative team for this; from Tom’s incredible analytic mind and amazing eye, to [production designer] Joel [Collins]’s beautiful world building, to everyone else involved. And then there’s the cast, which has proved to be the cast of dreams, we are so lucky to have been able to entice them in.”
One thing the Beeb hasn’t announced yet is a release date, but we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we find out when His Dark Materials will make it onto our TV sets. We’ll keep you posted as this exciting series progresses.