His Dark Materials Season 3 Release Date and Schedule Revealed
After months of waiting, the team behind His Dark Materials adaptation finally came to NYCC with some good news.
Warning: potential spoilers ahead!
There was a lot to unpack during His Dark Materials NYCC panel, but first of all, the news we've all been waiting for: season 3 release date and schedule officially confirmed. There's going to be a couple of episodes back to back released every week, with the finale slated for Christmastime. Authority's End airing right around Christmas? Talk about poetic!
The schedule for His Dark Materials season 3 episodes would thus be:
- December 5th: Episodes 1 & 2 (starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT)
- December 12th: Episodes 3 & 4
- December 19th: Episodes 5 & 6
- December 26th: Episodes 7 & 8 (Finale)
It's notable how HBO is preparing to air 2 episodes a week, and there's still virtually no promo at all; fans are admittedly frustrated with not getting a chance to get their hands on at least a teaser trailer.
James McAvoy, joining the creative team behind His Dark Materials at NYCC panel, promised what sounds like very emotional third and final season, exploring his character's drives and impulses a bit more. According to executive producer Dan McCulloch, the finale is going to be "pretty heart-wrenching" but also "incredibly profound," so fans better brace themselves.
Prophesied child Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Subtle Knife bearer Will (Wilson) must now embark on an adventure to a dark plane. Meanwhile, McAvoy's Lord Asriel returns after being absent for the vast majority of season 2 to wage war against the Authority (i.e. God).
Aside from premiere date and release schedule, there's more big news for His Dark Materials fans, and it's Lin-Manuel Miranda's comeback. His character, Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby, died in the Season 2 finale, but, true to the source material, will be back in Season 3 just in time for the final war.
Season 3 essentially adapts Philip Pullman's third and final novel of the series, The Amber Spyglass. Fans have concerns that the decision to compress season 3 into an 8 episodes installment, despite the fact that the third novel is the longest in the series, may be misguided and have an unfortunate effect on the quality of the narrative.