Game of Thrones dominated HBO's Sunday primetime nights, but now that it's over, a new fantasy epic series will be taking over the void it left. His Dark Materials, based on another classic and popular book series, will be coming to HBO sometime in the late 2019 and it has been deemed so good that the cable network, in collaboration with BBC, has confirmed a two-season order.
His Dark Materials will follow the events of the stories across three books written by Philip Pullman. As per Deadline, the first season will cover "Northern Lights" published in 1995, which is also called "The Golden Compass" in the United States.
This installment will introduce the story's heroine, 12-year-old Lyra Belacqua (played by Dafne Keen), who has a curious streak and who loves going on adventures with her daemon the Pantalaimon. Lyra will learn that some people want her uncle, Lord Asriel (played by James McAvoy), dead in His Dark Materials season 1 because of his knowledge and research about mysterious particles called Dust.
Lyra will also find out that one of her friends has been abducted by a group of religious fanatics known as the Gobbler in His Dark Materials. Seeking to rescue him, the young girl goes on a quest and encounters different characters, including the leader of the Gobblers, Mrs. Coulter (played by Ruth Wilson), the balloonist Lee Scoresby (played by Lin-Manuel Miranda), and the witch Serafina (played by Ruta Gedmintas).
Filming for His Dark Materials season 1, with eight episodes, wrapped up in December 2018, as per Radio Times. The cast and crew will be back on the set this summer to work on the second season based on the book "The Subtle Knife," which was published in 1997.
In this installment, Lord Asriel's experiments will open up a portal that brings Lyra to a parallel universe. Here, she will learn about the Spectres that go after adults, and she will also encounter a young man named Will, who is also from another universe.
However, the TV version of His Dark Materials will likely change some storylines in the books. As per the HBO logline, Will is introduced in season 1. The whole trilogy will be played out in at least five seasons with the last book taking up at least two seasons of story development.
Just before Game of Thrones aired its final episode, HBO previewed a teaser to His Dark Materials to confirm that it will be its next biggest fantasy adaptation.
