Lyra (Dafne Keene) with her daemon Pantalaimon (Bad Wolf/BBC/PA)
The BBC has announced that its highly anticipated adaption of author Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials will air on BBC One on November 3.
Produced for the BBC and US premium cable network HBO, the show stars 14-year-old actress Dafne Keen in the role of hero Lyra while James McAvoy plays Lord Asriel.
McAvoy will also be reunited on-screen with ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff who plays Ma Costa, one of the boat-dwelling characters known as Gyptians who transport Lyra to the Arctic.
James McAvoy plays Lord Asriel (Ian West/PA)
The three books on which the fantasy series is based – Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass – tell the story of Lyra, an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined.
The first series of the TV adaptation will tell the story of the Northern Lights before the plot moves on to dramatise its follow-ups.
That book was made into an ill-fated film in the form of 2007’s The Golden Compass.
Despite boasting a stellar cast including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Sir Ian McKellen, the film flopped and a planned trilogy was axed.
The BBC hopes its version of the tale will be more successful with viewers and critics alike.
