His Dark Materials
HBO/BBC

The human characters are only half of the equation when it comes to ‘His Dark Materials’, HBO and BBC One’s ambitious adaptation of Phillip Pullman’s hit YA novels.  In this magical reality, humans are accompanied by enchanted animals called dæmons, which can talk among other feats.  These dæmons are said to be the manifestation of their human’s soul.

Now we know who will be providing the voices for the dæmons on the TV adaptation, as it was announced via the show’s official Twitter account:

Joe Tandberg voices Iorek Byrnison, “the large, powerful polar bear who plays an important part in Lyra’s (Dafne Keen) story.”  Tandberg has lent his voice to video games such as ‘Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers’ (as Runar), ‘Battlefleet Gothic: Armada’ (as Space Wolf), and ‘Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series’ (as Josera Snow’).

Following the official announcement, Tandberg took to Twitter himself to express his happiness over being cast:

Cristela Alonzo voices Hester, “the arctic hare daemon of Lee Scoresby, played by Lin-Manuel Miranda.”  Miranda revealed that his character and Hester make their debut on the series singing a duet, so fans can look forward to seeing these two belting out a tune!  Alonzo has previously provided voice work for ‘Cars 3’ and ‘The Angry Birds Movie’.  She previously starred on her own sitcom called simply ‘Cristela’.

Kit Connor voices Pantalaimon, “Lyra’s daemon, who can change shape at will—because daemons don’t actually settle in their final form until the human they’re bonded with hits puberty. Pan, as Lyra calls him, is one of the main characters of the story, because of how his connection to Lyra.”

Connor played young Elton John (or Reggie, rather) in ‘Rocketman’.  He was also in ‘Slaughterhouse Rules!’ with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and ‘Ready Player One’ among many other credits.

David Suchet voices Kaisa, “the goose daemon of the witch queen Serafina Pekkala (Ruta Gedmintas). Witches’ daemons are known for always taking the form of birds, and being able to fly far away from their humans—daemons normally have to stay very close, or risk excruciating pain due to their separation.”

Suchet may be best known for playing famed literary detective Hercule Poirot in the series ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’, among his many other credits.

Brian Fisher will provide “noises” as the golden monkey dæmon that belongs to Marisa Coulter (Ruth Wilson), Lyra’s mother.  He is the only dæmon who cannot speak.

Dafne Keen heads up the cast as Lyra Belacqua.  The cast also includes Miranda as well as Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, James McAvoy as Lord Asriel, and Clarke Peters as The Master/Dr. Carne.  The series has already been renewed for a second season, with Amir Wilson as Will Parry, and Andrew Scott as his father, Colonel John Parry.

Season 1 of ‘His Dark Materials’ will premier on BBC One and HBO (in the US) in late 2019.

 

Source: i09