BBC’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy has found another star from the X-Men universe; Deadline reports James McAvoy will join Logan‘s Dafne Keen in the fantasy meets science fiction series. McAvoy’s set to play Lord Asriel, the father of Keen’s Lyra Belacqua, a.k.a. Lyra Silvertongue. Asriel is a powerful man, an explorer, and a questionable father–I mean, he leaves Lyra orphaned. It’s easy to picture McAvoy in the intense role, perhaps moreso than Daniel Craig, who played the character in the film The Golden Compass. This gives me hope that they’ll find someone fierce as hell to play against him as the villainess Mrs. Coulter.
Clarke Peters (Jessica Jones, The Wire) is also set to board the series as the master who raises Lyra. The series centers on her journey through a parallel universe that isn’t hugely different from ours, except for the presence of Dust, particles attracted to consciousness, magical witches, and dæmons, animals that are manifestations of a person’s soul…okay, maybe it is hugely different. Lyra’s quest for answers about Dust and Lord Asriel leads her into myriad dangerous, often fantastical situations.
The show also stars Lin-Manuel Miranda as aeronaut Lee Scoresby. The King’s Speech‘s Tom Hooper is set to direct the eight-part series. And if you’re curious about the books the series is based on, Alpha Book Club recently read The Golden Compass and you can watch their discussion on Alpha.
What do you think of these casting choices? Who should play Mrs. Coulter? More importantly, have you taken our quiz to learn which animal your dæmon would be? Share your results in the comments.
Images: Fox, Scholastic
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.
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