Over two years after the BBC1 adaptation of His Dark Materials was first announced, it has finally been revealed that Logan star Dafne Keen will play lead character Lyra.


Plans for Jack Thorne’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy book trilogy were announced in November 2015, but there had been no word on the casting until now.

Keen is best known for playing Wolverine’s daughter, X-23, in Marvel’s Logan. In His Dark Materials she will play Lyra, a young orphan who lives in a parallel universe.

The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper will be helming the project.

Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda is also reportedly in talks to portray balloonist and adventurer Lee Scoresby in the adaptation.

His Dark Materials, written by Philip Pullman, is made up of three parts – Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The first instalment was adapted for cinema in 2007 starring Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, with Lyra played by Dakota Blue Richards.


The new eight-part series is set to start production in Wales “soon” and the producers are expected to announce more casting details in the coming weeks.