Deadline is reporting that James McAvoy (X-Men franchise, Split) and Clarke Peters (The Wire, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) will star in the upcoming TV adaptation of Philip Pullman’s series His Dark Materials. McAvoy will play Lord Asriel, Lyra’s father as played by Daniel Craig in 2007 feature version The Golden Compass, while Clarke will play the master who raises Lyra.
The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper will direct the eight-part series, while Logan‘s Dafne Keen is on board to play the main character Lyra. Lin Manuel-Miranda (the Broadway play Hamilton, the upcoming Mary Poppins Returns) will play Lee Scoresby.
The His Dark Materials adaptation will be produced by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner’s Bad Wolf with New Line Cinema for BBC One. Hooper is reportedly trying to fit in the live-action adaptation of the Broadway musical Cats for Universal Pictures and Working Title. Keen is known for capturing the imagination of audiences as Laura in the recent Wolverine film Logan.
The His Dark Materials series was ordered by BBC One and was written by Jack Thorne (National Treasure) back in 2015. The book series consists of Northern Lights, which became the 2007 film The Golden Compass with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The stories are about the coming of age of two children, Lyra and Will, who move through parallel universes. Apple and Netflix are reportedly up to stream the adaptation.
The adaptation of His Dark Materials is set to begin production in Wales soon. Casting will be announced over the next few weeks. It will be executive produced by Pullman, Tranter, gardner, Toby Emmerich and Caroline Blackwood for New Line, and Bethan Jones for BBC One and Deborah Forte for Scholastic.
Are you guys excited that James McAvoy and Clarke Peters have joined the upcoming adaptation of His Dark Materials? Did you read the series? We want to hear from you! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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