Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: Amir Wilson, Dafne Keen, HBO, His Dark Material, james mcavoy, jane tranter, philip pullman, ruth wilson

His Dark Materials Season 3: Expect More James McAvoy Than In Book

The third and final season of His Dark Materials, the TV adaptation of Philip Pullman's classic Young Adult Fantasy novels that are also an allegory for the Biblical story of the Fortunate Fall, will expand James McAvoy's role as Lord Asriel. McAvoy will be more prominent in the series than he was in the book.

Season 3 of His Dark Materials tells the story of the third book in the saga, The Amber Spyglass, where Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) and Lord Asriel's (James McAvoy) plot against the totalitarian Magisterium (a metaphor for the Church) comes to a head, with teen heroes Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) caught in the middle.

During a cast-and-crew panel at this year's Edinburgh International TV Festival, executive producer Jane Tranter said the third novel was "probably far and away the most complex of the books to adapt." That's an understatement considering the story is an atheist allegory for a biblical war against Heaven. Pullman had admitted to the producers, "I'm really sorry, I fear I've left you with some terrible problems."

"One of those – and it's not a problem obviously," said Tranter. "It's a wonderful creative challenge and privilege – but one of those is lots of things happen, or you're given a lot of information either through a narrating voice or Asriel is told something offscreen."

In The Amber Spyglass, Lord Asriel is largely absent until he finally shows up in the climax at the end for the final confrontation. The producers of the show and screenwriter Jack Thorne agreed that McAvoy should be in the series a lot more. An original episode that marked the end of the second season where McAvoy's Lord Asriel took centerstage had to be scrapped because of the Pandemic and Lockdown.

In Season 3 of His Dark Materials, McAvoy's role has been expanded in the series, with a new character created for him to interact with in these new scenes. This is standard practice in many adaptations. After all, The Sandman on Netflix brought Matthew the Raven (Patton Oswalt) to prominence much sooner in the story so that Dream (Tom Sturridge) could have a foil and the audience a stand-in for asking questions.

His Dark Materials is on HBO.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!