His Dark Materials Trailer Offers a Glorious Look at Its Fantasied World — San Diego Comic-Con 2019

At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, BBC and HBO released a new trailer for His Dark Materials, the adaptation of the epic fantasy adventure novel trilogy of the same name by Sir Philip Pullman. It gives us a much better look at the upcoming fantasy adventure series, which stars the likes of Dafne Keen (Logan), James McAvoy (Split), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Ruth Wilson (The Affair), Clarke Peters (The Wire), Ian Gelder (Queers), Will Keen (The Refugees), Ariyon Bakare (Life), Georgina Campbell (Krypton), Anne-Marie Duff (The Virgin Queen), James Cosmo (Game of Thrones), Lucien Msamati (Black Earth Rising), Mat Fraser (Loudermilk), Geoff Bell (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and Simon Manyonda (King Lear).

The new His Dark Materials trailer opens with Lord Asriel (McAvoy) warning about a war with The Magisterium, which he then promptly leaves to fight. His niece Lyra (Dafne Keen) tries to stop him to no avail, and she's left in the care of Asriel's former lover and the villain, Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson), who moulds her in her image. We are told that children are disappearing, and in another shot, Mrs. Coulter says “sometimes, children can just... disappear.” This suggests she might be involved in the scheme. Lyra then takes off on an adventure of her own, during which she comes across aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Lin-Manuel Miranda).

Here's the official synopsis for His Dark Materials, via HBO:

“Adapting Philip Pullman's award-winning trilogy of the same name, which is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction, the first season follows Lyra, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children, and becomes a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. As she journeys through the worlds, including our own, Lyra meets Will, a determined and courageous boy. Together, they encounter extraordinary beings and dangerous secrets, with the fate of both the living — and the dead — in their hands.”

Written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), His Dark Materials season 1 consists of eight episodes. There's still no word on an exact release date, but HBO revealed that it will premiere sometime in the autumn.

With HBO handling international distribution — BBC will air it in the UK — it's possible that the show will be available on Hotstar in India. His Dark Materials has already been renewed for season 2.