Home TV News ‘His Dark Materials’: Production Begins On 3rd & Final Season

‘His Dark Materials’: Production Begins On 3rd & Final Season

by Dave Elliott

‘His Dark Materials’: Production Begins On 3rd & Final Season

Production has started on the 3rd and final season of Bafta Award-winning BBC/HBO drama His Dark Materials it has been announced.

Pictured above, are Amir Wilson as Will, the bearer of The Subtle Knife, and Dafne Keen as Lyra, the prophesied child, who travel through multiple worlds to find and protect each other.

At the end of season two, we saw Lord Asriel call upon the angels to help him wage a war against the Kingdom of Heaven, as Mrs Coulter abducted her daughter Lyra to take her to “safety” in their own world.

Season three opens with Lyra unconscious, having been given a sleeping draught by her mother, as Will, still carrying the Subtle Knife, continues his quest to find her. Will is tracked down by two angels – Balthamos and Baruch – who wish to take him to join Lord Asriel’s campaign against The Authority with Commander Ogunwe. But Will is not the only one after Lyra, with Father President MacPhail continuing his mission to destroy the child of the prophecy, employing the help of his most committed follower, Father Gomez.

Meanwhile Oxford physicist Mary Malone reaches another parallel world – that of the Mulefa, a strange animal-like species. They tell her of a cataclysmic phenomenon in their world.

With multiple new worlds, including the Land Of The Dead, returning characters and featuring strange new creatures the Mulefa and Gallivespians, the third series will bring Philip Pullman’s masterpiece to a dramatic conclusion.

“The Amber Spyglass is the most gloriously complex of Philip Pullman’s novels to adapt for TV, but with our world-class creative team in Cardiff no challenge is too daunting,” commented Bad Wolf Founder and Executive Producer Jane Tranter. “This series is both an epic adventure and a story about love and truth. Jack, Francesca and Amelia’s scripts capture the brilliance of Philip’s worlds and we are joined by our much-loved existing cast and some exceptional talent new to the series.”

New cast for season three includes Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Commander Ogunwe and Jamie Ward as Father Gomez. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Simon Harrison, and Chipo Chung are the rebel angels Balthamos, Baruch and Xaphania; while Ama will be played by Amber Fitzgerald-Woolfe.

The returning cast also includes Will Keen as Father President MacPhail, Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi and Ruta Gedmintas as Serafina Pekkala.

Amit Gupta will lead as director of the opening two episodes, to be followed by Charles Martin and Weronika Tofilska. Production will once again take place in the sound stages at Wolf Studios Wales and on location throughout Wales and England.

The series will once again be helmed by Executive Producers Jane Tranter and Dan McCulloch for Bad Wolf. Writers Jack Thorne and Francesca Gardiner will both Executive Produce, with Amelia Spencer joining as writer and consulting producer. Also executive producing the series are Ryan Rasmussen, Julie Gardner and Joel Collins for Bad Wolf; Philip Pullman; Deborah Forte; Toby Emmerich and Carolyn Blackwood for New Line Cinema; and Ben Irving for the BBC.

“The moment we started series one of His Dark Materials we had mapped out all three novels to know the direction in which we were heading,” adds Executive Producer Dan McCulloch. “Every detail and character within this incredible work of fiction has been analysed and discussed for four years now, and to finally arrive in the many worlds of The Amber Spyglass is thrilling.”

Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction and has sold over 18 million copies worldwide. The Amber Spyglass is the first children’s novel to win the prestigious Whitbread Book of the Year (in 2001) and the first children’s novel to be long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. ‘His Dark Materials’ series two averaged over six million viewers on BBC One. Series one and two are streaming now on BBC iPlayer.

“Philip Pullman’s extraordinary trilogy of novels reaches new heights in The Amber Spyglass, and this incredible creative team have risen to the challenge every step of the way,” said Ben Irving, Commissioning Editor, BBC Drama. “Audiences on BBC One and BBC iPlayer will need to prepare for another thrilling visual and emotional journey with Lyra and Will.”

His Dark Materials‘ is expected to land on BBC One in the UK and HBO in the USA in 2022. If you want to keep track of this show you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.

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