What you need to know

  • HBO released an extended His Dark Materials trailer at San Diego Comic-Con.
  • HBO and BBC are working together on the show.
  • There are polar bears. In armor.
  • The show is set to premiere this fall.

HBO and the BBC have been working together to bring Sir Philip Pullman's young adult novels, the His Dark Materials trilogy, to life in a new television series and debuted the first extended trailer on Thursday.

Today at San Diego Comic-Con, the networks held a panel where they showed off the new footage. There has been a teaser trailer, but this is our first look at some of the plot points from the first book, The Golden Compass, along with character interactions and locations.

Starring Dafne Keen (Logan), James McAvoy (Days of Futures Past), and Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), the trailer is a fast-paced glimpse into what's coming from the show.

Dafne Keen in His Dark MaterialsCourtesy of HBO

If it's anything like the book, you can expect cool-looking animals — did you see that armored polar bear? — magic that isn't exactly magic, betrayal, and, of course, action. The books themselves are long, large, and convoluted, so hopefully, the TV series will be equally as in-depth.

The His Dark Materials series has been adapted before. The Golden Compass movie, which came out in 2007, was a miss with critics and fans. There's a lot riding on this series not just because of how popular the books are (although that's important) but because of how disappointing the last adaptation was.

His Dark Materials will be coming to HBO in the U.S. and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. this fall. Hopefully, we'll see more details and more trailers in the coming months.

How do you feel about this new adaptation? I'm a little nervous it might suck but I am interested in what you all think. Let me know in the comments!

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