X-Men and Atomic Blonde star James McAvoy and The Wire’s Clarke Peters have signed up to star in the BBC’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy epic His Dark Materials.

The pair will start work on the eight-part series, which is produced by Bad Wolf, later this month. McAvoy plays Lord Asriel, the ruthless adventurer who was played by Daniel Craig in 2007 feature The Golden Compass. Asriel is the father of main character Lyra, an orphan, who lives in a parallel universe, who is played by Logan star Dafne Keen. Meanwhile Peters, who recently starred in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, plays the master who raises Lyra.

His Dark Materials, which will air on BBC One, is written by National Treasure and Wonder writer Jack Thorne. It is based on Pullman’s trilogy of books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, a complex tale of physics, philosophy and theology featuring witches and armored polar bears. It tells the story of two children, Lyra and Will, who wander through a series of parallel universes.

Earlier this year, Deadline revealed that The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper is to direct the series, which will also star Lin-Manuel Miranda as adventurer Lee Scoresby. It will be exec produced by Pullman, Tranter, Gardner, Toby Emmerich and Carolyn Blackwood for New Line; Piers Wenger and Ben Irving for BBC One and Deborah Forte for Scholastic.

Bad Wolf and distributor BBC Worldwide have also been talking to a number of international broadcasters and streaming services about the project, which is thought to be one of the most expensive British dramas to date. Apple and Netflix are among the suitors for the U.S. and global rights. Endeavor Content co-reps North American rights with BBC Worldwide.

McAvoy is repped by UTA and United Agents.