Anyone who has read the His Dark Materials trilogy knows that the books get progressively broader and weirder as the world opens up throughout them and the characters begin hopping into even more universes. Season 3 of HBO and the BBC’s adaptation of the novels looks like it’s jumping head first into that interdimensional adventure as the new His Dark Materials trailer, which landed today, shows.
The third season will draw mostly from the third book in the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass. That book sees Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson), along with Lyra’s daemon Pantalaimon, journeying through the multiverse in order to save all of them and even heading straight to the land of the dead. It also brings back Lyra’s father, Lord Asriel (James McAvoy), and (surprise!) Lee Scoresby (Lin-Manuel Miranda) as the final rebellion begins and plenty of secrets are revealed. The third book, which plays heavily into religious metaphor and allegory, features the final confrontation with The Authority and a great battle to basically reset the entire universe all centering around Lyra, who may be the multiverse’s new Eve. It’s gets crazy, as the His Dark Materials season 3 teaser trailer reflects.
The series has been a pretty big hit for HBO and fared far better than Hollywood’s attempt to turn the blockbuster book series into a franchise of films. The Golden Compass bombed at the box office when it came out in 2007 despite being a pretty solid adaptation. Author Philip Pullman’s trilogy was always better suited for TV, however, as its complexities, grand scope, and social commentary need a bit more room to breathe than the film allowed.
Ruth Wilson also returns for the third season, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Justice League), Simon Harrison (Endeavour), and Chipo Chung (Into the Badlands) join the cast as a new set of angels.
His Dark Materials season 3 will premiere on December 5 on HBO Max.
