Looking to finally do better justice to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials novels than the abortive cinematic version could, the BBC's adaptation of the fantasy story is adding to its cast. James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson and Clarke Peters are all aboard.
National Treasure's Jack Thorne has written the adaptation of the trilogy, which comprises the books Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Materials' narrative follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua (Logan's Dafne Keen) and Will Parry as they explore parallel universes inhabited by witches, armoured bears, and daemons. Thorne is crafting an eight-part series that will be shown in the UK and shopped around to international broadcasters, with the likes of Amazon and Netflix interested in rights worldwide.
McAvoy's on to be ruthless adventurer Lord Asriel, while Wilson is reportedly playing Lyra's mother. Peters, meanwhile, is the master of Jordan College, Oxford, where Lyra initially grows up. Tom Hooper will direct the series, which will also feature Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby. We'd expect it to air next year, but there's no formal date yet.
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