These latest pictures give a sneak preview of the latest episode of Sir Philip Pullman’s gripping His Dark Materials trilogy which is now back on our TV screens.
Season two of the series has returned to the BBC and while the first acclaimed series focused on Northern Lights, the first book in the trilogy, this time the episodes are based on the sequel The Subtle Knife.
Season one was praised by the critics and Dafne Keen continues in her role as Lyra Belacqua, with Amir Wilson playing Will Parry.
Simone Kirby and Dafne Keen
Ms Keen is joined by Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter and Lin Manuel-Miranda as Lee Scoresby.
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New to the cast is Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi, Terence Stamp as Giacomo Paradisi and Simone Kirby as Mary Malone.
Cardiff-based production company Bad Wolf has been in charge of filming.
Some scenes at the fictional Jordan College in series one were filmed at New College in Oxford.
Executive producer Jane Tranter told the Radio Times earlier: “In season one, we had a witch. In season two, we had witches, and we have angels.
Ohmad Jalili
She added: “Everything is just kind of building and expanding - there are many new characters and excitements.”
The Subtle Knife begins when Will Parry accidentally kills an intruder and runs away.
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In Oxford he follows a cat to a portal to a parallel universe and discovers the deserted city of Cittàgazze, where he meets Lyra and her dæmon Pantalaimon, and they work together to investigate the mysterious Dust phenomenon.
It’s not long before Lyra and Will discover their destinies are intertwined in the mission to reunite Will with his father, a quest which is further complicated when a war breaks out around them.
The impressive ensemble cast will also see the reappearance of Ruta Gedmintas as witch queen Serafina Pekkala.
Philip Pullman himself has confirmed that there won’t be any major changes to the story.
Dafne Keen in the Pitt Rivers Museum scene
“We are not trying to do something different to the books,” screenwriter Jack Thorne added.
“Sometimes we do step away and do different things, but always we’re going back to the text and saying, ‘How does this help us tell Philip’s story best?”
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A special standalone episode starring James McAvoy as Lord Asriel could not be filmed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Season Two of His Dark Materials coincides with the publication of a new Philip Pullman short story, Serpentine, which is set after the events of His Dark Materials.
Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson
In 2017, the first part of a new trilogy by Philip Pullman was published by Oxford-based David Fickling and Random House.
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La Belle Sauvage, the first instalment of The Book of Dust trilogy, came out in 2017 and was followed by The Secret Commonwealth. Episode two of Season Two of His Dark Materials starts on BBC1 on Sunday at 8pm.
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