The new trailer is here for season three of HBO’s fantasy series His Dark Materials which not only teases a transformative and high-stakes adventure but a release date as well.
In addition to Dafne Keen’s Lyra — the prophesized protagonist of the series — and Amir Wilson’s Will, James McAvoy also makes a return after a long absence in the second season as Lord Asriel, who is featured a lot in the trailer. Asriel is helping to wage war against the Authority in the culminating battle of the series that will also be its final season, which premieres in just a couple of months.
While the first season was based on Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass and the second season was based upon his follow-up book, The Subtle Knife, season three will round out the author’s Dark Materials fantasy series by being based upon the third book in the series, The Amber Spyglass.
McAvoy said the upcoming season will be an attempt to “make good on all the promises” of the first two seasons, including following up on the activities of Asriel and Ruth Wilson’s Mrs. Coulter. As The Chronicles of Narnia actor explained to Entertainment Weekly during New York City Comic Con:
“In the books, you don’t really see it. You’re told about it a little bit or in hindsight ‘hey, there are other things happening over there in the Republic of Heaven with Asriel,’ and we had to show a lot more of it. And it was just about making sure that we were still true to who he is and his drives and his impulses and his objectives still bear the actions of what we end up choosing to create in season 3.”
In terms of when His Dark Materials season three premieres on HBO, it will debut on the premium cable network and its accompanying streaming service HBO Max on Dec. 5.