An epic journey begins for young Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen) in BBC and HBO’s fantasy adaptation His Dark Materials, and a new trailer for the upcoming series has debuted at San Diego Comic-Con 2019.
Based on the book trilogy of the same name by Philip Pullman (who is an executive producer on the show), His Dark Materials is set in a world similar to our own, with the notable difference that people’s souls exist outside of their bodies as creatures called daemons. A child’s daemon is able to shapeshift between different animal forms, but eventually settles into a single form as the child approaches adulthood. Lyra is an orphan who was raised by her uncle, Lord Asriel (James McAvoy), at Jordan College in Oxford, and has a daemon called Pantalaimon. One day, Lord Asriel departs on a journey north and Lyra finds herself in the grasp of a mysterious and dangerous woman called Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson).
When a close friend of Lyra’s joins a growing number of children who have disappeared, she becomes determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. With the help of a device called the alethiometer, and allies like explorer Lee Scoresby (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and armored bear king Iorek Byrnison, Lyra and Pantalaimon embark on a journey to the north to find out the truth. Check out the SDCC 2019 trailer for His Dark Materials below:
Unfortunately the trailer doesn’t include a premiere date, only stating that His Dark Materials will arrive on HBO some time in fall 2019. With Game of Thrones coming to an end this year, the network is no doubt hoping that this will be its next super-popular epic fantasy series. His Dark Materials has already been renewed for season 2, and Amir Wilson has been cast in the role of secondary protagonist Will Parry. Will is introduced in the second book of the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, and is therefore expected to make his debut in season 2 of His Dark Materials (or, perhaps more likely, in a finale post-credits scene).
Writer Jack Thorne, who adapted Pullman’s books for TV, said during the panel that if His Dark Materials was a superhero show it would follow Lord Asriel (who is on a clandestine mission to completely change the world), but instead it follows a good person: Lyra. Meanwhile, Wilson described her character, Mrs. Coulter, as the “cesspit of evil” – which was what made her decide to take the role. As you can tell from watching the trailer, Lyra and Mrs. Coulter’s opposing natures make them natural enemies.
