If done right, this could be absolutely epic.
Since releasing Northern Lights in '95, Phillip Pullman's beloved trilogy of books, His Dark Materials, has received enormous commercial and critical acclaim. Not only did the author win the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction but the books continue to find new audiences due to their remarkable subject matter.
A few years ago, there was talk that the BBC would finally adapt the His Dark Materials fantasy series but the production has since been stuck in creative hell.
Well, the dust has been shaken off the project because Bad Wolf Productions, the producers of A Discovery of Witches, has announced that they're finally going ahead with the TV show.
This being said, fans of the series do have some reservations - especially in light of the film adaptation of Northern Lights, The Golden Compass.
https://twitter.com/BadWolf_TV/status/965533954089549824
By adapting the His Dark Materials trilogy into a TV show, the producers will be looking to erase the memory of one of the biggest mistakes in recent cinematic history because The Golden Compass was an absolute mess.
To begin with, the film bowed to studio pressure to remove any anti-religious sentiments from the script- an incredible decision given the books subject matter which focuses on tyrannical rule of The Magisterium. In fact, Chris Weitz had to remove any mention of 'sin' from the script.
By doing so, the movie spectacularly missed the point of the source material because separating the philosophical ideas from His Dark Materials is like separating a child from their Dæmon.
Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Sam Elliot were well cast, but the pressure to edit the film into a smaller running order, combined with the decision to remove all mentions of religion, resulted in a crushing disappointment for fans of the books.
This being said, we've got hopes for this TV adaptation because if it's done right, this could rival the scope of shows like Game of Thrones.
The Subtle Knife is an extraordinary book that has the potential to be something that's truly special. When it comes to adapting The Amber Spyglass, we're happy for the TV show to take some 'creative liberties' with regard to certain aspects of the story because the finale just didn't match the brilliance of the first two installments.
Either way, we're excited to see the His Dark Materials TV show.
Dear BBC, Can you please, please, PLEASE get it right? Cheers.
