Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Hooper in talks for His Dark Materials adaptation
He’s trading in King’s College for Oxford.
EW can confirm that Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda is close to signing a deal to portray balloonist and adventurer Lee Scoresby in the BBC One and Bad Wolf TV adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
The 8-part series spanning Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy, which includes The Golden Compass (known as Northern Lights in the U.K.), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. The BBC commissioned the series back in 2015 with Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema attached to produce.
EW can also confirm that Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) is nearing a final deal to direct the series. Hooper has been circling the project for some time and would potentially be attached to oversee all eight episodes of the fantasy epic.
Dafne Keen, the young breakout star of Logan, is also in final talks to join the project as the main character, Lyra, a young orphan girl who finds herself thrust into a dangerous adventure when she sets out to find a kidnapped friend. Over the course of the trilogy, Lyra joins Will, a boy with the ability to cut through worlds, and together they embark on a journey that thrusts them into a world-spanning war where they discover a prophecy surrounding their own destiny.
The first book in the series, The Golden Compass, was previously adapted for the big screen in 2006 by New Line, and starred Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman.
His Dark Materials will mark the second major television adaptation for Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner’s Bad Wolf following the highly anticipated A Discovery of Witches, based on Deborah Harkness’ best-selling All Souls trilogy.
