‘The Secret Garden’s Amir Wilson is the newest cast member to join HBO and BBC’s ‘His Dark Materials’, a series adaptation of Philip Pullman’s best-selling book series. The TV adaptation is still in production of Season 1 but has already been renewed for a second. Wilson will play the major role of Will Parry.
His casting was announced via the show’s Instagram:
“One day, you’ll follow in your father’s footsteps. You’re going to be a great man too. You’ll take up his mantle.”
Introducing @Amirrwilsonn as Will Parry.#HisDarkMaterials pic.twitter.com/6lPg1bssmZ— His Dark Materials (@darkmaterials) June 6, 2019
In the books, Will Parry is described as a 12-year-old boy with “straight black eyebrows, dark hair with a strong, jutting jaw.” The description is vague, so the character has typically been depicted as Caucasian in illustrations, but race is never specified. He becomes an important figure, especially after obtaining the titular knife that allows him to cross between realities.
Wilson will co-star with ‘Logan’s Dafne Keen, who plays the female lead Lyra. The pair find themselves in a parallel universe, where they encounter “all manner of strange creatures and roaming wild children,” all the while Will searches for clues as to what became of his father, who disappeared years ago.
Will pops up in the second book in the series, ‘The Subtle Knife’, so he may not appear until the second season. The first appears to focus on Lyra, and the events of the book ‘The Northern Lights’, released in the US as ‘The Golden Compass’ which was adapted into a movie in 2007, featuring Michelle Pfeifer.
The cast of the TV adaptation of ‘His Dark Materials’ also includes James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Clarke Peters. Tom Hooper is directing, with a script by Jack Thorne, who also penned the adaptation of ‘The Secret Garden’ in which Wilson also stars.
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.
‘His Dark Materials’ Season 1 is expected to arrive on HBO and BBC One later this year.
