By Bryanna Ehli
Dust off your alethiometers, the 'His Dark Materials' series finale is approaching.
Quick Links
- When and Where Will His Dark Materials Season 3 Be Released?
- Is There a Trailer for His Dark Materials Season 3?
- Is Season 3 the Final Season of His Dark Materials?
- Are There Any Casting Changes in His Dark Materials Season 3?
- What Will His Dark Materials Season 3 Be About?
- Where Can You Watch The Golden Compass?
The expansive multi-world universe of author Philip Pullman was brought to screens back in 2019 with the premiere of the ethereally thrilling BBC/HBO series. Now three years later the well-loved story of dust and daemons reaches the end of its mystifying source material. As fans of the novels and series alike know, there is not just one world spending its time dreaming of others, and as the release of His Dark Materials Season 3 looms nearer, we can’t stop dreaming of the world that Pullman and screenwriter Jack Thorne have created.
Following the reality-bending, heart-wrenching events of Season 2, tensions are rising in the multiverse, and the cosmic battle between good and evil is reaching its climax. Fans of the show are on the edge of their seats waiting to see how the mounting war will unfold, and fans of the novel trilogy can’t wait to see the story's final chapter come to life. If you’re looking to learn more about the third season of His Dark Materials, this article will be your alethiometer and guide you to find the answers that you seek.
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When and Where Will His Dark Materials Season 3 Be Released?
You don’t have to look for it every moment, every single moment, because Season 3 of His Dark Materials is scheduled to premiere on December 5, 2022, in the US. A release date for the UK has yet to be announced. In the UK, the breathtaking BBC fantasy tale can be viewed on BBC One, and in the US, HBO Max will be the streaming home of the series. On TV, the series is expected to premiere on HBO at 9:00 PM ET and 11:00 PM PT on December 5.
Is There a Trailer for His Dark Materials Season 3?
The trailer, released in early November on HBO's official YouTube page, reveals a glimpse of the thrilling action to come. Based on the few minutes shown in the preview, we can see that the series will continue its breathtaking visuals and dark, mystifying cinematography style that has previously brought the book adaptation praise. Additionally, the trailer gives hints to how the multiverse's complicated entanglement is reaching a point of cosmic collapse and dusty universal death, linking the stories together and putting even more weight onto the shoulders of the stories' young heroes.
Is Season 3 the Final Season of His Dark Materials?
The prophecy states that this third season will be the final installment of His Dark Materials, though hopeful fans are already looking for an indication that the story will continue beyond its source material. Without any indication of expanding the expansive universe, we’d rather not know what’s in the future. We’ll stick to the presently scheduled eight episodes of reality-bending adventures.
Related:Best Fantasy Book Adaptations Like 'The Rings of Power' and 'House of the Dragon' Streaming Now
Are There Any Casting Changes in His Dark Materials Season 3?
In June 2021, it was announced that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Farming) was added to the cast to portray King Ogunwe, a commander of Lord Asriels’s military forces. Jamie Ward (The Durrells) was added as Father Luis Gomez, who is tasked with killing Lyra before the prophecy can be fulfilled. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Mary Poppins Returns) and Simon Harrison (Everest) have been cast as Balthamos and Baruch, angels who served in the rebellion against the Authority. Chipo Chung (Sunshine) will portray Xaphania, the leader of the rebel angels who are allies of Lord Asriel, and Amber Fitzgerald-Woolfe has been cast as Ama, the curious daughter of a herdsman, in her first credited acting role.
In Season 2, aeronaut Lee Scoresby, who is portrayed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was shot and killed by The Magisterium. As a result, his daemon Hester (Cristela Alonzo) died alongside him. Additionally, Colonel John Parry (Andrew Scott) shielded his son Will from a Magisterium member's gun and died just after instructing Will to bring the subtle knife to Asriel. While Lyra and Will venturing into the world of the dead does raise possibilities, there's a good chance we won’t see these actors and the characters they portray return in the third season.
As for the main cast, Dafne Keen will return as the story's brave, universe-trekking heroine, Lyra Belacqua. Ruth Wilson reprises her role as the elegant and affluent Marisa Coulter, Lyra’s mother with a sordid past of working with the Magisterium. James McAvoy is once again Lord Asriel Belacqua, Lyra’s mysterious uncle who is leading the rebellion against the Magisterium, and Amir Wilson will return as the character Will Parry, the new keeper of the subtle knife.
Related:'His Dark Materials': Amir Wilson on How Season 2 Gets "Deeper" and "Darker"
What Will His Dark Materials Season 3 Be About?
Season 3 of His Dark Materials promises to stick to the message and themes of the original novel series, which is the abolition of the rigid structures of organized religion, pulling theological inspiration from not only the Bible but also poet William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and the fall of man detailed in John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
In Season 2, which is based on the series’ second book The Subtle Knife, Lyra and Will met in Cittagazze where Lyra convinced her new friend to take her to his world so she can learn more about Dust. She also uses the alethiometer to help find Will’s father, who has been missing for 13 years. In a tense scene, Cardinal Sturrock died at the hands of a captured witch, and the cruel McPhail became the new Cardinal in his place, swearing vengeance against the witches, bombing their land, and destroying their home. Additionally, Lyra and Will learn about the Subtle Knife, its ability to open a window into any universe, and its dark history that infested the city of Cittagazze with soul-sucking specters. One of the most important twists of the second season is Marisa’s sudden change of heart when her maternal instincts kicked in, deciding to save her daughter from the evil forces she had previously been consorting with.
While the show doesn’t follow the books completely, they do keep very close to the source material's storyline. In the third and final book of the series, Lyra is being hunted by the Magisterium, who are attempting to prevent the fall of man after the witches' prophecy named Lyra as the second Eve. As the second Eve, the young heroine is responsible for a cosmic change greater than any rebellion could accomplish. The angels Balthamos and Baruch attempt to persuade Will to assist Lord Asriel’s army in their fight against the Magisterium, though he and Lyra decide that they must first free the dead to become one with the universe, and find Lyra’s missing friend Roger, who visited her from the world of the dead in a dream. And the moment fans have been waiting for: Lyra and Will finally confess their love for each other but learn that they must go back to their respective worlds to survive as the Dust is escaping through specter windows. Audiences will have to wait and see if the heroes can save the worlds and exist together in the republic, or turn into nothing more than specks of dust.
Where Can You Watch The Golden Compass?
The 2007 film The Golden Compass is available to stream on The Roku Channel and available for purchase through YouTube, Google Play Movies, Apple TV, and Amazon. While the film received criticism for rushing the plot and not adhering to the original narrative, it’s still worth a watch for fans of the story. As you know, without stories, we wouldn’t be human beings at all.
