You could throw a rock in Hollywood and hit a TV series based on a popular fantasy book series. With the rise of “Game of Thrones,” as well as the success of films such as “The Chronicles of Narnia” and ‘Lord of the Rings,’ studios all around are trying to snatch up the rights for popular fantasy novels and turn them into sparkly new TV series. Over on HBO, this is being done with an adaptation of “His Dark Materials.”
As seen in the new trailer for “His Dark Materials,” the series is aiming to be a faithful adaptation of Philip Pullman’s iconic series of novels. The story follows a young girl as she goes through various adventures while searching for a missing friend. “His Dark Materials” isn’t the first time that Pullman’s novels have been adapted. Back in 2007, “The Golden Compass” was released and tried to capture the magic of the novels, but was a box office failure.
The cast for the HBO series includes Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy, Clarke Peters, James Cosmo, Anne-Marie Duff, Will Keen, Ariyon Bakare, and Dafne Keen. “His Dark Materials” is written by Jack Thorne, who is probably best known for his film projects such as “Wonder” and the upcoming “The Aeronauts.” He’s also the man writing Damian Chazelle’s Netflix series “The Eddy.”
The series features two episodes directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper, as well as episodes directed by Otto Bathurst and Jamie Childs.
“His Dark Materials” debuts on HBO on November 4.
Here’s the synopsis:
Adapting Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the series follows Lyra (Dafne Keen), a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust.
