At the San Diego Comic-Con panel for HBO and BBC One’s upcoming series ‘His Dark Materials’, the trailer for the elaborate show was unveiled, and it looks pretty intense, and despite its youthful protagonist, Lyra Belacqua (played by ‘Logan’s Dafne Keen), this is no kid’s show!
Written by Jack Thorne, ‘His Dark Materials’ is based on the bestselling book series by Philip Pullman. Joining Keen are Ruth Wilson as “the cesspit of moral filth,” and “the mother of all evil,” Marisa Coulter; James McAvoy as Lord Asriel, a steely man determined in his mission; Clarke Peters as The Master/Dr. Carne; and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, who Miranda calls “the Han Solo of this story.”
In this parallel universe science and magic coexist, and young Lyra discovers a “dangerous secret” involving Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter and finds herself drawn into a case of child kidnappings, connected to a mysterious substance called Dust.
Get your first magical glimpse of the series in the new trailer:
As for the dark tone, ‘His Dark Materials’ isn’t necessarily any less kid-friendly than ‘Harry Potter’.
Executive producer Jane Trantor stated:
“In my experience, children love dark, complicated themes and big questions about who we are and where we are. And I think that Pullman never underestimated children either. … Pullman says what he wrote was adult books that children should read, and I hope that we ended up making an adult piece that children will watch and should watch. But essentially we just followed his lead.”
Thorne further added:
“This is an anti-superhero story, in that if this was a superhero story you’d be following the Lord Asriel part. There’s people that are seeking greatness in this story, and there are people that are following their own goodness. And the thing I love about Lyra is she is constantly following the path of the good. I really believe that we should be following our goodness right now and we aren’t getting distracted by greatness. …There’s something very beautiful about the way that Philip sees the world and the way he communicates this world.”
As the trailer announces, ‘His Dark Materials’ debuts on HBO and BBC One this fall. The first season consists of eight issues, and a second season has already been ordered.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
