Early Work On ‘His Dark Materials’ Season 3 Already Under Way
by Erik Amaya
While a third season of HBO’s His Dark Materials adaptation is not the most shocking possibility in the premium cable landscape, HBO has yet to order it, so any talk of it before the second season airs is worth noting.
Slashfilm spotted this interview with executive producer Joel Collins in the Radio Times. In it, he refers to author Philip Pullman‘s ambitious third novel, The Amber Spyglass, and the challenges of turning that into television. “The complexity is stepped up in terms of the story, the visuals and the narrative. There’s very few of us in a very secret group doing early work, which is exciting and complex,” he explained. “We’re trying to solve the puzzle away from all the eyes and the noise. And it’s that kind of really precious time you get before hundreds of people start asking questions.”
As Slashfilm notes, the novel features, among other things, non-humanoid creatures lacking for a verbal language and several alternate worlds Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) visit during the final part of their journey. And although it now seems like adapting The Amber Spyglass is a certainty, this was not always the case. Back before HBO partnered with the BBC to produce the series, all indications led toward a two-season treatment of the entire trilogy. This turned out to be incorrect as HBO is interested in stretching its fantasy shows as far as possible, but one wonders how quickly the production could be mounted. Also, as the first two season were filmed concurrently, Keen and Wilson will be appreciably older when the series resumes.
Of course, it always possible for Season 2’s finale to account for that. The new season debuts on November 16th on HBO and HBO Max.