‘His Dark Materials ideal for TV adaptation’
THE best-selling Sir Philip Pullman book His Dark Materials is well-suited to a TV adaptation, star Ruth Wilson has said.
Sir Philip has always credited Wales for firing his imagination.
And parts of the new TV blockbuster have been filmed in Wales.
The first instalment of Sir Philip’s trilogy of novels, Northern Lights, was made into a film in the form of 2007’s The Golden Compass.
Despite a stellar cast, including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Sir Ian McKellen, the film flopped and a planned movie trilogy was axed.
His Dark Materials is now being
adapted for TV in a joint production between the BBC and HBO, with Ruth Wilson starring alongside Dafne Keen, James McAvoy and Mary Poppins Returns star LinManuel Miranda.
Wilson said the books are better suited to the small screen and HBO’s Game Of Thrones paved the way.
Speaking at the Comic-Con event in San Diego, she told PA: “TV has become the place where you can really explore story and drama, as well as the big fantasy.
“HBO has already proven that with Game Of Thrones and the scale on which those episodes were shot, they looked like films, they were amazing.
“(TV) is not the poorer sister anymore. It’s actually where you can spend more time in storytelling and they have the money now to create the scale on which film used to be on.
“There’s no difference anymore and in a way, if you’re going to tell a drama – which this is, as well as being fantasy – you’ve got more time. You have eight hours to explore that, rather than an hour and a half.”
The His Dark Materials TV adaptation, set to air at the end of the year, has already been renewed for a second season.
Wilson said it “feels special”. She added: “It feels like we’re part of something big and iconic. And that we’re hopefully serving an audience that loves these books.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda said it was an easy decision to say yes to starring in the TV adaptation.
The creator of the hit musical Hamilton will play adventurer Lee Scoresby in the series.
Miranda revealed he was working on Mary Poppins Returns in London when His Dark Materials executive producer Jane Tranter and writer Jack Thorne offered him the part.
Miranda said: “They said ‘His Dark Materials’ and I said ‘yes’. I didn’t even know what the part was, I would have sharpened pencils for this.”
He said he is a huge fan of the books.
His Dark Materials takes place in a fantasy world where human souls take the form of animals, called Deamons in the books.
Sir Philip credits his teenage years at school in Wales for his love of writing.