His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by British author Philip Pullman, encompassing a great tale in three volumes: Northern Lights (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000).

Not everyone likes or enjoys these books. They have drawn criticism for its alleged depiction of Christianity and other religious practices.

Rumour has it that this trilogy is being adapted once again. Though, this time creatives are going through the long-form television route. From what I hear, the BBC are taking on this venture.

Northern Lights introduces Lyra (Orla Hill), an orphan who lives in a parallel world where science, religion and magic are entwined. Her search for a missing friend uncovers a conspiracy involving kidnapped children. This turns into an adventure to understand a phenomenon called Dust.

She is joined on her quest by Will (Abraham Attah) in The Subtle Knife, a boy who possesses a blade that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about who she is and where she came from, they’re are caught in a magical war that spans many worlds which leads to a great conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.

Below is a fancasting of the characters from the novels, a fancasting that I think is realistic to the BBC hence why there are so few big names. Or if there are big names, they are names who have been known to do TV as well as film.

Main Characters

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Creator: Jack Thorne (Electric Dreams)

Writers: Jack Thorne & Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady)

Series Director: Alice Troughton (Merlin)

Villains

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Musical Score: Anne Dudley (Poldark)

Cinematographer: Mark Patten (Taboo)

No. Seasons: Five

Supporting Characters

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No. Episodes: Forty (Eight Episodes Per Season)

Distribution: BBC Two (UK) & BBC America (US)

Production: BBC Wales

Additional Characters

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Country Of Origin: United Kingdom

Running Time: 60 mins

Certificate: 12

Minor Characters

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Well, the BBC do have a series in the pipeline, who knows when and if we’ll actually get one?