The BBC and HBO’s hotly-anticipated TV adaptation of Philip Pullman’s beloved fantasy series His Dark Materials has announced its animal voice cast, including Joe Tandberg (The Innocents) who will lend his voice to Iorek Byrnison, the fierce warrior polar bear and heir to the throne of Svalbard.
Along with Iorek, the voice cast for the show’s dæmons (animal companions to each character) has been announced and includes David Suchet (Poirot) as Serafina Pekkala’s gyrfalcon Kaisa, Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders) as Lord Asriel’s snow leopard Stelmaria, Cristela Alonzo (Cristela) as Lee Scoresby’s arctic hare Hester, and Kit Connor (Rocketman) as Lyra’s unsettled daemon Pantalaimon.
The newly-announced additions join an enormous cast that includes Dafne Keen (Logan) as Lyra, James McAvoy (It: Chapter Two) as Lord Asriel, Ruth Wilson (The Affair) as Mrs. Coulter, Clarke Peters (The Wire) as The Master, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns) as Lee Scoresby, Amir Wilson (The Kid Who Would Be King) as Will Parry, Ian Gelder (Queers) as Librarian Scholar Charles, Will Keen (Wolf Hall) as Father MacPhail, Ariyon Bakare (Life) as Lord Boreal, Georgina Campbell (Krypton) as Adele Starminster, Anne-Marie Duff (Suffragette) as Ma Costa, James Cosmo (Game of Thrones) as Farder Coram, Lucien Msamati (Richard II) as John Faa, Mat Fraser (Cast Offs) as Raymond Van Geritt, Geoff Bell (War Horse) as Jack Verhoeven, Simon Manyonda (King Lear) as Benjamin de Ruyter, Lewin Lloyd (Taboo) as Roger Parslow, Daniel Frogson (The Devil Outside) as Tony Costa, Tyler Howitt (Apple Tree House) as Billy Costa, Archie Barnes (Patrick) as Pantalaimon and Andrew Scott (Fleabag) as Jopari.
SEE ALSO: His Dark Materials trailer introduces Dafne Keen’s Lyra
Adapting Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the first season follows Lyra, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. As she journeys through the worlds, including our own, Lyra meets Will, a determined and courageous boy. Together, they encounter extraordinary beings and dangerous secrets, with the fate of both the living — and the dead — in their hands.
