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BBC and HBO might have finally done Phillip Pullman’s beloved novels justice with their recent adaptation of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and we’ve just got our first look at season 2 courtesy of San Diego Comic-Con@Home.
The second season will adapt the second book, The Subtle Knife, where we look to rejoin Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen) in Cittàgazze. In the second instalment of this cosmic series, we’ll start to see the consequences of Lord Asriel’s (James McAvoy) discoveries about the nature of Dust. Fleabag star Andrew Scott is also joining the cast in the new season as Colonel John Parry, Will Parry’s father, and both will reportedly play a significant part in Lyra’s journey.
Dafne Keen spoke on Lyra’s growth in the new season during a panel with cast and crew. "I feel like when you first meet Lyra she's a very easy going person you can trust easily. Going into season 2... I can trust no one, I can trust nothing. Which is what is so beautiful about season 2. She starts off so closed and in her own shell and Will brings her out back into the world and back into 'Lyra.’”
Lee Scoresby actor Lin Manuel-Miranda also added, "I missed [Dafne] while filming on season 2. My character is looking for her, and [we shoot on] sets that are in completely different worlds as well... A lot of his journey in season 2 is about that. He's like, 'She got dealt the worst hand when it comes to parents.' And he wants to do his best to get her back."
Also revealed: an entire episode from season 2 was cut due to filming being stopped due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “It was separate from the other seven episodes because it was a standalone episode which Jack [Thorne] had written with the blessing and input of Philip Pullman, which looked at what Lord Asriel had been doing between going through the anomaly at the end of season one and when we see Lord Asriel at the beginning of book three The Amber Spyglass,” executive producer Jane Tranter said.
“It meant that we could continue post-production on the seven episodes that make up The Subtle Knife and just put the Asriel standalone episode to one side and maybe in the future we can revisit it as a standalone. But essentially our adaptation of The Subtle Knife had been completed.”
His Dark Materials returns to HBO and BBC this Fall. Keep up to date with more reveals from SDCC 2020 right here, and be sure to check back to see what you missed!
