TV: His Dark Materials

Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson have joined the cast of the BBC's upcoming series His Dark Materials, based on the fantasy novels by Philip Pullman, Variety reported. Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) will direct the first two episodes of the eight-part adaptation by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child).

Principal photography on the show, which is being produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema for the BBC, has begun in Wales. The cast also includes Dafne Keen (Logan), Clarke Peters, Anne-Marie Duff, Ariyon Bakare, Ian Gelder, Georgina Campbell and Will Keen.

"The caliber of our cast and directors is a testament to the brilliance of Jack Thorne's scripts and also the sheer bravura, depth and imagination of Philip Pullman's original novels," said Bad Wolf founder and executive producer Jane Tranter. "Our determination is to sound every note of the books in a series that will fully explore the many worlds and concepts in Philip's work."

Thorne said Pullman's books whisk the reader into "a world of constant imagination. Reading them, I was a massive fan. In adapting them, I've increasingly felt in awe of them. It's the constant invention, the way the story never sits still, and that the characters constantly surprise you."

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