Official photos from His Dark Materials premiere!
By Dan Selcke
On November 4, HBO debuts His Dark Materials, its show based on Phil Pullman’s novel trilogy of the same name. This series, previously adapted for the big screen as the milquetoast The Golden Compass, is set in a world parallel to our own, where human souls take the form of animal companions called dæmons, a religious organization called the Magisterium rules the planet, and talking bears roam the wild north, wearing armor and being awesome.
The story goes to a lot of far-flung places, but basically follows Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen), a precocious child looked after by her scholar-explorer uncle Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) who gets wrapped in a conspiracy involving kidnapped children and a mysterious particle called Dust. Now, HBO has released the first official photos from the premiere!
His Dark Materials
James McAvoy
CR: HBO
Only not exactly, because the scene here isn’t actually from His Dark Materials — it’s from La Belle Sauvage, a prequel book that explores how Lyra came to be at Jordan College, which is where she’s living (and raising merry hell) at the beginning of the original trilogy. La Belle Sauvage is the first book in a new trilogy set in Lyra’s world called The Book of Dust.
His Dark Materials
James McAvoy
CR: HBO
In these shots, Asriel is rescuing an infant Lyra from a flood — specifically, the Great Flood that happened in 1986. That’s 1986 in Lyra’s world, not ours, so expect a lot less talk about Aliens and Madonna and a lot more zeppelins. This is pretty much how La Belle Sauvage.
His Dark Materials
James McAvoy
CR: HBO
Nestled with Lyra is her dæmon Pantalaimon, who at this point can change shape but who often takes the form of a cute little ermine.
His Dark Materials
James McAvoy
CR: HBO
We’re probably looking at the opening scene here. McAvoy told Entertainment Weekly that this scene from the pilot represents “a minute of extra material that comes from The Book of Dust.” Executive producer Jane Tranter also weighed in:
"We did have to take a very clear line and say we’re adapting His Dark Materials, and if there’s anything in The Book of Dust that suggests that — perhaps the origin story is a little bit different than how it is in the pages of His Dark Materials — we’ll either go by that or we’ll just adapt what’s in His Dark Materials."
So bits of The Book of Dust will make their way into the show. This final photo, which shows Asriel talking about Dust to his colleagues — I’m guessing — looks like its from the original trilogy:
His Dark Materials
James McAvoy
CR: HBO
His Dark Materials consists of three books: The Northern Lights (released as The Golden Compass in the US), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Appropriately enough, the first season will adapt the first book. Season 2 is already in production.
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HBO and the BBC look like they’re doing right by Pullman’s excellent work, so I’m pretty excited about this one. We’ll be covering it here at WiC when it premieres!
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