‘His Dark Materials’ Season 2 Possible Air Date, Plot: BBC Director General Says Fantasy Series Will Have ‘High’ Production Cost

“His Dark Materials” Season 2 has been greenlighted by BBC even when the first installment has yet to air. While this move does have precedent, it’s still a risky move to take given that the network doesn’t have any idea how audiences might respond to the adaptation.

The move takes on a higher risk still as BBC director general Tony Hall said that the cost per episode is high. The expense is apparently due to the visual effects that are injected into the series, an element that’s being handled by Framestore, Variety reported. It’s still unclear what storyline “His Dark Materials” Season 2 will include given that the first installment is still in production.

The series is based on Philip Pullman’s young-adult fantasy novels “His Dark Materials” trilogy. It follows the adventurous albeit danger-filled life of Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen) and Will Parry as they move through multiverses. In the first book “Northern Lights” (otherwise known as “The Golden Compass”), Lyra started her journey when she discovers that the Master is trying to kill her uncle, Lord Asriel (played by James McAvoy). If every installment represents one book of the trilogy, then “His Dark Materials” Season 2 will tell the story of “The Subtle Knife.”

The plot of the second book centers around Lyra traveling to the city of Cittagazze, a technologically superior place whose denizens inadvertently created soul-eating specters. It’s also where Lyra meets the other main protagonist of the story, Will Parry. Although all of this seems promising enough, hardcore fans of the trilogy shouldn’t expect an accurate representation. Director Otto Bathurst said that the series will have a different feel to it as it will be “more accessible” to the current generation of audiences. As for when fans can expect the series to drop, series star Lin-Manuel Miranda said that American audiences can watch it on late 2019, Business Times reported. UK audiences, on the other hand, can expect an earlier date. “His Dark Materials” Season 2 will follow after and will likely be treated similarly to the first installment’s release.