His Dark Materials, the new fantasy series from HBO and BBC, Brings Philip Pullman’s best selling trilogy to the small screen.
To those of us who need their regular fix of fantasy, we have good news – two days from now (November 4, 2019) a new fantasy series from BBC and HBO will start airing: His Dark Materials. The series, based on Phillip Pullman’s best-selling book series, has recruited some big and interesting names, including: James McAvoy, Gary Lewis, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ruth Wilson star alongside Dafne Keen (Logan). In charge of script is Jack Thorn (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and the two first episodes were directed by Oscar winner Tom Hopper (The King’s Speech).
Synopsis
His Dark Materials takes place in a parallel universe in which humans are accompanied by daemons, a talking animal that is a physical manifestation of the person’s soul. The first book focuses on Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon, as they search for her friend Roger and soon discover that he is one of many children who has gone missing. She struggles to unravel the mystery of something known only as Dust while navigating a world on the verge of a celestial war. Pullman’s rich, complex narrative is populated by witches, aëronauts and highly intelligent armored bears.
Wasn’t There a Movie Already?
First of all, kudos for remembering. And besides, yes. In 2007, a movie called The Golden Compass, which had the potential of being the beginning of a new franchise. That is, if it could repeat the success of the Harry Potter movies, Lord of the Rings, and perhaps a handful of popular fantasy movies. In those days Pullman enjoyed a great deal of popularity, and there was even quite a lively fan activity, similar to the activities which started around J.K. Rowling’s books, albeit to a much lesser extant.
The movie adaptation from 2007 had all the makings of a blockbuster, including a large budget and a star studded cast, which included Nicol Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, the late Sir Christopher Lee, Samuel Pack Elliott (a wonderful and under appreciated actor, in my opinion), and even Sir Ian McKellen contributed his beautiful voice the fighting polar bear, Yorek Byrnison. But all of this didn’t help the movie. Its earnings in US box office were disappointing. Critics and audiences were also generally unimpressed, and even Pullman himself was quoted criticizing the adaptation. As a result, the two planned sequels were scraped.
With no new movies or books in the series, the fandom around His Dark Materials dwindled and dispersed. The publication of a fourth book, opening a new trilogy in the fictional world Pullman created was not enough to rekindle the hype. Not that there is any comparison between Game of Thrones and His Dark Materials, but could the new TV series do for Pullman what Game of Thrones did for George Martin? We can only watch and find out. In the meantime, you’re welcome to watch the trailer and get a first impression.
