Ahead of the fall 2019 premiere of HBO’s “His Dark Materials,” the network announced the voice cast behind daemons and other animal characters from author Philip Pullman’s fantasy world on Friday.
“Peaky Blinders” actress Helen McCrory will voice Stelmaria, the snow leopard daemon belonging to Lord Asriel, David Suchet (“Poirot”) voices gyrfalcon daemon Kaisa, while Kit Connor (“Rocketman”) is Pantalaimon, the unsettled daeomon of Lyra Belacqua, played by Dafne Keen.
“His Dark Materials” is based on the novel trilogy by Pullman, consisting of “Northern Lights” (published as “The Golden Compass” in North America), “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass.”
The show’s previously announced stars playing human characters include Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Ruta Gedmintas and Amir Wilson.
Set in a world where science, theology and magic are entwined, the series features an array of talking animals and supernatural creatures called “daemons,” who function both as companions to specific humans and expressions of that human’s soul.
The rest of the voice cast announced Friday include: Cristela Alonzo as Hester, the arctic hare daemon belonging to Aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Miranda); Brian Fisher (“Detective Pikachu”), who will provide animal noises and vocal characteristics for the unnamed, nonspeaking golden monkey daemon belonging to Mrs Coulter’s (Wilson); and Joe Tandberg (“The Innocents”) as Iorek Byrnison, a bear Lyra meets on her quest.
Fisher also served as lead puppeteer and CFX coordinator behind the puppets used during filming to help actors establish relationships with the daemon characters that were later created through CGI by Framestore.
“His Dark Materials” has a two-season order and will air this fall on the BBC in the U.K. and HBO in the U.S. HBO is also distributing the series outside the U.K. Produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema.
It’s executive produced by Pullman, Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner for Bad Wolf, Toby Emmerich and Carolyn Blackwood for New Line Cinema, Bethan Jones for BBC One and Deborah Forte for Scholastic, which publishes the books.
Pullman’s fantasy tale was previously adapted as a 2007 film “The Golden Compass” starring Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green and Ian McKellen.
10 Movie Hits Launched at Sundance in 2018, From 'Won't You Be My Neighbor' to 'Eighth Grade' (Photos)
Even though last year's Sundance didn't see studios break the bank to acquire a movie, the Park City festival was still the launch pad for several future indie hits that competed or premiered there. Here are the biggest ones from the last 12 months.
“Colette” ($5.1 million domestic) — Our list opens with Keira Knightley's portrayal of the author of the "Claudine" novels, who strikes out on her own after her manipulative husband takes the novels to Paris and claims that he wrote them. Bleecker Street bought the film for $4 million and saw a minor return on the film.
“Leave No Trace” ($6 million) -- "Winter's Bone" director Debra Granik won praise from indie circles for her gentle direction of a single father and his teenage daughter's wayward journey from one home to another after being caught living off the grid.
"Tully" ($9.4 million) -- The buzz for Charlize Theron's performance as a weary single mother began with a surprise screening at Sundance, going on to gross just under $10 million domestically.
“Three Identical Strangers” ($12.3 million) — Director Tim Wardle received a Special Jury Prize at Sundance for his competition-screened telling of triplets who were separated at birth thanks to an unethical behavioral science experiment. “Strangers” was one of four documentaries in 2018 to gross over $12 million at the box office, the first time that has ever happened in a calendar year.
“Eighth Grade” ($13.5 million) — It was snubbed by the Sundance jury AND the Academy, but “Eighth Grade” was still a striking debut for both its director, Bo Burnham, and its lead star, Elsie Fisher. The coming-of-age tale earned one of the highest opening per screen averages of the year, as A24 also held free screenings for teens to get around the film’s R rating.
“RBG” ($14 million) — Last year saw Ginsburg Mania hit a fever pitch, highlighted by the success of Magnolia Pictures’ documentary on the Supreme Court Justice released in the middle of a blockbuster-loaded May. And now it has earned Magnolia its second straight Oscar nomination, joining last year's doc "I Am Not Your Negro"
“Sorry to Bother You” ($17.5 million) — Boots Riley’s directorial debut became an instant cult classic with its bizarre imagery and cutting social commentary. It was purchased by Annapurna in an effort to built its distribution wing and became its first legit indie box office hit.
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” ($22.8 million) — Morgan Neville’s ode to Mister Rogers might have been shockingly snubbed from the Oscars, but it was still the most talked about film at Sundance and one of the most popular docs of the past decade. Released in the summer, it now ranks as one of the top 10 highest grossing nonfiction films of all-time.
“Searching” ($26 million) — The feature debut of Indian-American filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty made a huge splash in Sundance’s Next section and made a mint after being released by Sony in the late summer. Made on a paltry $1 million budget and bought for $5 million, “Searching” stars John Cho and tells the story of a father searching for his disappeared daughter, with almost the whole film being told on smartphone and computer screens.
“Hereditary” ($44.1 million) — The biggest box office hit of Sundance 2018 was a midnight section film produced by A24. “Hereditary” earned critical and audience acclaim for its disturbing portrayal of grief and its destructive power, and was declared by many to be the finest performance of Toni Collette’s career.
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Several films that premiere or compete in Park City go on to become the indie darlings of tomorrow
Even though last year's Sundance didn't see studios break the bank to acquire a movie, the Park City festival was still the launch pad for several future indie hits that competed or premiered there. Here are the biggest ones from the last 12 months.
