A third season of His Dark Materials has been greenlit in another boost to Wales’ expanding creative industries sector.
The last episode of the second season of the show was screened on BBC on Sunday.
It means that along with a third season A Discovery of Witches and a second series of Industry more than 400 people will be working at Wolf Studio Wales in Cardiff Bay from now until the end of 2021.
BBC One and HBO announced that the co-production His Dark Materials has been commissioned for a third season from Bad Wolf and will start production in Cardiff in 2021.
The production company Bad Wolf was founded by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner in 2015. Since then it has created A Discovery of Witches, Industry and His Dark Materials in Cardiff.
The second series of A Discovery of Witches will start on Sky One on January 8, 2021. In a rare move the third season of the show was commissioned before the second series had even screened, and the crew have been navigating the logistics of filming this during the pandemic.
In 2019 Bad Wolf was named as the fasting growing company in Wales with a staggering growth rate of 2668% from 2016-18, with revenues rising from £1.8m to £50.3m. In the latest Fast Growth 50 list the production company ranked fifth with a growth between 2017-2019 of 503.5%, and turnover 2018-19 of £90.5m.
The third season of His Dark Materials will be based on The Amber Spyglass, the third part of Philip Pullman’s original trilogy of novels. It will see Dafne Keene return as Lyra, along with Amir Wilson as Will, Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter, Simone Kirby as Mary Malone, Ruta Gedmintas as Serafina Pekkala, Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi, Will Keene as Father MacPhail, and James McAvoy as Lord Asriel.
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Jane Tranter, executive producer for Bad Wolf said: “His Dark Materials has been a truly global TV experience and a personal career highlight.
“The creative team at Bad Wolf in Cardiff made the impossible possible and brought Philip Pullman’s worlds into vivid life. To see that hard work and dedication applauded and embraced by fans around the world has made all the hard work worthwhile.
“None of this would have been possible without the wonderful commitment and conviction of the BBC and HBO. I am excited, thrilled and honoured to be making the third part of Philip Pullman’s trilogy with their support and encouragement. Diolch .”
The series will once again be helmed by executive producers Ms Tranter and Dan McCulloch for Bad Wolf. Lead screenwriter Jack Thorne will be joined as executive producer by season two writer Francesca Gardner, with Amelia Spencer as a new addition to the scriptwriting team. Joel Collins will continue as production designer and executive producer on the third instalment.
Ben Irving, BBC drama commissioning editor, Wales, said: “It’s been a joy to see how His Dark Materials has brought British TV audiences of all ages together on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
“Fans of Phillip Pullman’s incredible books, and newcomers alike, have been enthralled by adventuring with Lyra and Will through multiple worlds. We are thrilled that they will be able to continue their journey in a third series of this beautifully realised drama. Our thanks to our partners at HBO and the dedicated creative team at Bad Wolf for making a landmark series that will continue to be watched and enjoyed on the BBC for years to come.”
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Francesca Orsi, executive vice president, HBO programming. said: “Bringing Phillip Pullman’s epic, intricate and culturally resonant body of work to television has been a tremendous privilege.
“We thank our incredible partners at the BBC and the entire Bad Wolf team, led by the indefatigable Jane Tranter, for their exceptional work on the first two seasons. We look forward to completing the trilogy with this final chapter in Lyra’s journey.”
Philip Pullman’s award-winning trilogy of the same name, is considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction and has sold more than 28 million copies worldwide.
His Dark Materials season 2 launched in the 海角视频 with more than 5.8 million viewers on BBC One and, to date, both series have been requested over 30 million times on BBC iPlayer with numbers increasing throughout the second season.