BBC's HIS DARK MATERIALS Adaptation Gets James McAvoy And Clarke Peters

BBC has been working on an adaptation of the Philip Pullman classic His Dark Materials, and they just landed some pretty big actors. Deadline reports James McAvoy and Clarke Peters have both hopped on the adaptation which is set to be an eight-part series. McAvoy will play Lord Asriel, who was originally portrayed by Daniel Craig on the big screen adaptation of the first book. Peters will play the master who raised Lyra.

The series is based on Pullman’s trilogy of books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, "a complex tale of physics, philosophy and theology featuring witches and armored polar bears. It tells the story of two children, Lyra and Will, who wander through a series of parallel universes."

The duo will join Lin-Manuel Miranda, who joined the project earlier this year in the role of adventurer Lee Scoresby. The series will be directed by The King's Speech director Tom Hopper, and no release date has been announced at this time.