The BBC has released a teaser trailer for His Dark Materials which gives us our first look the small-screen adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy novel trilogy. The series see Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) take the directors chair for the first two episodes and features a cast that includes Dafne Keen (Logan) in the lead role as Lyra, alongside James McAvoy (Glass), Ruth Wilson (The Affair), Clarke Peters (The Wire), and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns); watch it here…
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 (Lucian 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.
His Dark Materials features a cast that also includes Will Keen, Tyler Howitt, Ariyon Bakare, Georgina Campbell, Ian Peck, Ian Gelder, Anne-Marie Duff, James Cosmo, Ruta Gedmintas, Lucian Msamati, Mat Fraser, Geoff Bell, and Simon Manyonda.
