His Dark Materials: Season 3 & La Belle Savage Play

With production underway for the third and final season of His Dark Materials, I have been researching the world wide web for any news since my last article.

James McAvoy has dropped hints about the upcoming third season of His Dark Materials, adapted from the trilogy by author Philip Pullman. Season three, inspired by the third book The Amber Spyglass, will see McAvoy’s character Lord Asriel quite literally wage “war on the Kingdom of Heaven” – and the actor has hinted at some incredible battle scenes to look out for.

Speaking on the BBC’s The One Show in-between HDM filming and ahead of his lockdown film Together which aired on BBC Two this week, McAvoy confirmed that His Dark Materials season three was progressing well.

“Yeah, really good…” he said. “What can I tell you? It’s war. At the end of the second season we sort of declare war on the Kingdom of Heaven, so yeah, it gets pretty down and dirty, and there’s gonna be a lot of fisticuffs and a lot of explosions and all that stuff. But at its heart it’s about a wee girl and a wee boy… and not the adults with the egos.”

McAvoy's character was meant to have a standalone episode during Season 2, which was penned by Jack Thorne with input from Pullman that would "bridge the gap" between the ending of Northern Lights and beginning of Amber Spyglass, revealing what he was doing during his absence. However, the BBC/HBO had to cut that episode due to COVID issues, but production reworked a crucial Asriel scene into the Season Two finale instead.

Another HDM production in the works is the theatrical of The Book of Dust prequel. La Belle Sauvage is an upcoming theatre adaptation of the first book in The Book of Dust trilogy by Philip Pullman. It has been adapted by Bryony Lavery (who wrote the stage adaptation of the Lovely Bones and wrote Byzantium a 2012 vampire film directed by Neil Jordan, starring Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan) into a play which Nicholas Hytner (who directed the original two-part His Dark Material play at the National Theatre) will direct at the Bridge Theatre this winter:

Philip Pullman sets The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage twelve years before his epic His Dark Materials trilogy.

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Seventeen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe to direct a gripping adaptation by Bryony Lavery.

The show was intended to be shown from 11th July to 10th October 2020but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the theatre being shut, it was postponed - It is currently expected to be shown in December 2021. So far, casting details have been kept very much under wraps, but What's On Stage's listing of the creatives and cast currently has British actor Ralph Fiennes (best known for his portrayal of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter film franchise) listed as an unnamed cast member.

As this has not been officially confirmed nor has the page added additional casting yet, this article is purely speculative and I assure you I will be following up this article with a confirmation of casting once one is made. However, if Fiennes is linked to this production, that may explain his sudden departure from the Matilda Musical film adaptation (which has now recast Emma Thompson as the villainous headmistress) due to his commitments to this show.

Fiennes is a superb actor and if he has been cast in the world premiere of this play, I can definitely see him playing a crucial role - either Lord Asriel or the main antagonist Bonneville. However, I will hold off any further predictions until this has been confirmed by the production team itself - which may be later this year, once theatres are allowed to reopen safely. I for one loved reading the Book of Dust and cannot wait to see it brought to life on stage.

What do you think of this potential casting and the promise of an epic season finale?