His Dark Materials: 10 Things The TV Series Must Get Right

4. Get The Right Cast

While the film got a lot of things wrong, one of the few aspects you cannot criticise too much is the casting. Nicole Kidman was pretty much pitch-perfect as the manipulative Mrs Coulter, and Dakota Blue Richards delivered an assured performance for a child actor as the feisty Lyra. While it's unlikely that they could attract Kidman back to the role, and Richards is too old to convincingly play Lyra, it's important that they get these two characters right in particular, given just how important they are to the story (there's a wide-array of characters who serve their purpose, but these (along with Will) would be considered the main ones). Get them right, and the rest of the cast should hopefully fall into place. Thankfully, there's a lot of great British acting talent out there in TV. Just look at the cast lists for shows such as Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey and Broadchurch. Wrangling stars from those or similar series, or perhaps discovering an unknown talent for Lyra, and getting the best possible people to play the part is an absolute must if this show is to succeed.