Just as HBO’s upcoming His Dark Materials has descended upon Comic-Con International, so has its first full trailer.
The series, a joint venture between BBC and HBO, is due to air on their respective channels in late 2019 (the former in the UK, the latter in the US).
The trailer is as tense and tightly-edited as one would expect from modern-day marketing material. It depicts Dafne Keen in an impressive performance as protagonist Lyra Belacqua and features the first look at the series’ daemons. The initial His Dark Materials teaser was criticized by fans for not including them, but this trailer shows us many:
Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con ’19, executive producer Jane Tranter explained her reasoning for taking on this project, which itself is based on Philip Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy of the same name:
“I thought it was time for the books to be liberated in a space which could do them justice,” she said, “Being able to stretch those books out… I just felt it was time and I was very persistent and very naggy… and eventually they got sick of it and said, ‘Fine, just do it.'”
Notably, the last live-action adaptation of His Dark Materials was 2007’s The Golden Compass. The film covered the first book in Pullman’s trilogy, Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in America, hence the film’s title) and was released to less-than-stellar critical reception and disappointing Box Office returns. Gaining a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus read: “Without the bite or the controversy of the source material, The Golden Compass is reduced to impressive visuals overcompensating for lax storytelling.”
While filming for the first season has wrapped, the BBC has already ordered a second season of His Dark Materials, comprising of eight episodes. Clearly, they have faith in the show.
Do you think His Dark Materials will be the next binge-worthy Game of Thrones-esque show? Or will it fall on expectations like its movie predecessor? Share your opinions in the comments below!
