Fans of His Dark Materials want to see the show return for a fourth season. Surely Lyra and Will still have more of a voyage ahead of them. That sour-sweet resolution can’t be all that’s in store for us, can it? The final title card left us all perplexed and anticipating the next episode.
Bad Wolf and New Line Productions’ His Dark Materials for BBC One and HBO is adapted from Philip Pullman’s trilogy of the same name. The show’s music is composed by Lorne Balfe, and the script was written by Jack Thorne. Characters played by James McAvoy as Lord Asriel Belacqua, Gary Lewis as Thorold, Ruta Gedmintas as Serafina Pekkala, Amir Wilson as Will Parry, Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi, Simone Kirby as Dr. Mary Malone, and Andrew Scott as Colonel John Parry/Stanislaus Grumman. The third season concluded after a total of eight episodes. Each episode typically runs between 50 and 60 minutes in length.
His Dark Materials Season 4 Renewal Status
Unfortunately, there will be no further seasons of His Dark Materials because season three concludes the story much as the books in the trilogy do. Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass served as the inspiration for the respective seasons.
But since Sir Philip is a superb writer, he has also generated additional content sets in the realm, so there is always the chance that his universe will be enlarged in future TV adaptations. That’s our best-case scenario, anyway.
His Dark Materials Storyline
To sum up the plot for those who haven’t read the books: Asriel plans to summon the Angelic Authority figure Metatron, and Lyra and Will are thrown into the middle of the action. He plans to fight this ethereal monster and recruit as many different peoples as he can.
While all this is going on, Lyra is unexpectedly propelled into completing her destiny and embarking on a dangerous adventure with the help of Mrs. Coulter, who develops into a much more interesting and full character this year. The final few chapters build to a climax that is both satisfying and dramatic, capping off the novel in a way that does justice to the arcs of Lyra and Will.
His Dark Materials Cast and characters
- Dafne Keen as Lyra Belacqua (later known as Lyra Silvertongue), a girl who was raised at Jordan College
- Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, a powerful figure at the Magisterium who is Lyra’s mother
- Anne-Marie Duff as Maggie “Ma” Costa, a Gyptian woman who previously nursed Lyra
- Clarke Peters as The Master of Jordan College
- James Cosmo as Farder Coram van Texel, an elderly Gyptian and Serafina’s former lover
- Ariyon Bakare as Lord Carlo Boreal, an authoritative figure at the Magisterium who crosses between two worlds
- Will Keen as Father Hugh MacPhail (later Cardinal and Father President), a Magisterium official
- Lucian Msamati as Lord John Faa, of the Western Gyptians
- Gary Lewis as Thorold, Asriel’s assistant
- Lewin Lloyd as Roger Parslow, a kitchen boy who is Lyra’s best friend
- Daniel Frogson as Tony Costa, Ma Costa’s elder son
- James McAvoy as Lord Asriel Belacqua, a scholar and explorer who is Lyra’s father
- Georgina Campbell as Adele Starminster, a reporter
- Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby, an aeronaut
- Ruta Gedmintas as Serafina Pekkala, a witch who is the Queen of the Lake Enara witches, and Coram’s former lover
- Lia Williams as Dr Cooper, a Magisterium scientist operating at Bolvangar, and later in Geneva
- Amir Wilson as Will Parry, a secondary school student from Oxford, whose father disappeared 13 years previously
- Nina Sosanya as Elaine Parry, Will’s sick mother
- Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi, a witch queen and a former lover of Lord Asriel
- Sean Gilder as Father Graves, a member of the Magisterium
- Simone Kirby as Dr Mary Malone, a physicist from Will’s world
Andrew Scott as Colonel John Parry, a marine and explorer who is Will’s father; in Lyra’s world - Terence Stamp as Giacomo Paradisi, the bearer of the subtle knife residing in Cittàgazze
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Ogunwe, a resistance fighter recruited by Lord Asriel
- Jonathan Aris as Commander Roke, an inches-tall Gallivespian who works as Lord Asriel’s spy
- Chipo Chung as Xaphania, an angel allied with Lord Asriel
- Simon Harrison as Baruch, an angel who seeks Will to recruit him to Lord Asriel’s cause
- Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Balthamos, Baruch’s companion
- Jamie Ward as Father Gomez, a member of the Magisterium
- Amber Fitzgerald-Woolfe as Ama, a deaf girl who brings supplies to Mrs Coulter while she is in hiding
- Sian Clifford as Agent Salmakia, a Gallivespian spy
- Alex Hassell as Metatron, the Authority’s regent
His Dark Materials Season 4 Plotline
While a fourth season of His Dark Materials is unlikely, more of Lyra’s story may certainly be told. A straight sequel (or sequels) situated in the same world is possible, albeit it would probably not be the same program. Philip Pullman has created two novels continuing the story of Lyra and Pan after the events of His Dark Materials. Lyra’s Oxford is set two years after the events of The Amber Spyglass and features Lyra facing a furious witch whose son was killed in the conflict.
The Secret Commonwealth, the second installment in Pullman’s intended trilogy The Book of Dust, picks up with Lyra ten years after the events of His Dark Materials, when she is a student at St. Sophia’s College, Oxford. There has been no confirmation that these events will take place, although the season 3 finale of His Dark Materials hinted at “another story,” leaving the door open for them to do so. Radio Times reports that producer Jane Tranter is “really very keen to do The Book of Dust.” But that wouldn’t happen until after Pullman completes the third novel (due out in late 2023), so at the earliest, we’d be looking about 2025.
His Dark Materials Season 4 Trailer
Meanwhile, Season 3 of His Dark Materials is available to watch right now on HBO Max.
Where to watch His Dark Materials?
The series was created specifically for HBO’s digital streaming service, HBO Max, and will premiere on HBO in the United States.
His Dark Materials Season 3 Review
Many readers of fantasy novels already know that His Dark Materials is among the best in the genre. Even though 2007’s The Golden Compass was serviceable at most, it seemed that a true film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s books wouldn’t ever see the light of day. We were somewhat correct.
If you enjoyed the first two seasons, you’ll find a lot to love in this third installment, since it sticks closely to the source material. It’s reasonable that some readers will be disappointed with the movie’s adaptation of a particular conflict from the novel. Despite that, this third season maintains a good tone and atmosphere all the way through to the season finale’s huge fight.
The final few chapters build to a climax that is both satisfying and dramatic, capping off the novel in a way that does justice to the arcs of Lyra and Will. His Dark Materials isn’t flawless, and in many ways suffers from the long delay between seasons for its last part. The final act of Lyra and Will’s adventure is dramatic and touching, and there is enough here to make this tale entertaining even if it won’t blow you away.