James McAvoy steps into Daniel Craig's Shoes in Adaptation of His Dark Materials: #book2movie

James McAvoy is set to join Lin Manuel Miranda (Lee Scoresby) in the BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy epic His Dark Materials. McAvoy will play Lord Asriel. You may remember the role of the adventurer and absent father was played by Daniel Craig in the adaptation of The Golden Compass in 2007. 

James McAvoy will play Lord Asriel in His Dark Materials

This time around, Pullman’s work is being done as an eight-part series, a good choice for such a dense collection of stories. His Dark Materials is a trilogy including Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. 

Dafne Keen (Lyra) was Laura in Logan

At the center of the story is Asriel’s daughter, Lyra, (Dafne Keen) who lives in a parallel universe. Clarke Peters (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Chance, The Wire) plays the master who raises Lyra.

 Clarke Peters will play the Master of Jordan, the master who raises Lyra

Yet to be cast is Will, Lyra’s friend who travels through time and space with her.  

The acclaimed director of Les Miserables, The King’s Speech and The Danish Girl directs from a script by Jack Thorne (National Treasure, Wonder).

About the book

These thrilling adventures tell the story of Lyra and Will—two ordinary children on a perilous journey through shimmering haunted otherworlds. They will meet witches and armored bears, fallen angels and soul-eating specters. And in the end, the fate of both the living—and the dead—will rely on them. 

Phillip Pullman’s spellbinding His Dark Materials trilogy has captivated readers for over twenty years and won acclaim at every turn. It will have you questioning everything you know about your world and wondering what really lies just out of reach.

Just for fun, let’s take a look at The Golden Compass where we first met Lyra onscreen. 

While the story crosses a multiplicity of places, Pullman is an English novelist, McAvoy is an actor who hails from the British Isles. Director Tom Hooper is London born while screenwriter Jack Thorne hails from Bristol. 
Hence, I’m sharing it with fellow followers of British Isles Friday.