HBO's Series Adaptation of HIS DARK MATERIALS Will Premiere in Early November
I’m extremely excited for the upcoming series adaptation of the His Dark Materials novel series by Philip Pullman. The adaptation is being handled by BBC and HBO and we finally have a premiere date. According to Deadline, fans will be able to watch the first episode on November 3 via BBC with HBO airing it the following night, November 4.
Jack Thorne has written the first season, which I would’ve assumed was the first book, The Golden Compass, but it looks like it might have more as the description includes Lyra meeting Will, which doesn’t happen until a few chapters into the second book, The Subtle Knife.
“The first season of His Dark Materials, which is written by Jack Thorne, follows Lyra, played by Dafne Keen, whose search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. As she journeys through the worlds, including our own, Lyra meets a determined and courageous boy called Will (Amir Wilson). Together they encounter extraordinary beings and dangerous secrets, with the fate of both the living — and the dead — in their hands.”
Another interesting tidbit is that, apparently, Thorne went through 46 drafts of the first episode alone! At TCA he said:
“We wrote papers to ourselves about all the different ideas in the show. We wanted to do a Ph.D. in Phillip Pullman and we tried to do a Ph.D. in His Dark Materials. I wrote 46 drafts of episode one in order to find a way to tell this story as elegantly as possible. [Pullman’s] denseness is a blessing and a curse; it’s so exciting. Sometimes when you’re doing an adaptation of something there’s a moment when you know everything there is to know. With Phillip you never can. It’s a very challenging show to write but also glorious to write.”
His Dark Materials is currently set to last for 16 episodes across two seasons. Other cast members include James McAvoy as Lord Asriel, Ruth Wilson as Mrs. Coulter, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, and many others. Are you excited?