Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, will star in “The Golden Compass,” opposite Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards. He will also be reunited with Bond Girl Eva Green (Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale) in this, the first installment of an intended New Line trilogy based on the Philip Pullman series “His Dark Materials.” Chris Weitz wrote the script and will direct.
Craig will play Lord Asriel, a ruthless and mysterious adventurer who is the uncle of Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards), the young girl who journeys to a parallel universe to save her best friend. Green will play a good witch who helps the young girl navigate a world filled with shape-shifting and otherworldly creatures.
Craig’s character will figure prominently in all three feature films, depending on how this first installment does at the box office.
Production for “The Golden Compass” is set to begin on September 4, 2006 in the U.K. and is expected to have a December 2007 release date.
Lord Asriel… wasn’t that the name of Gargamel’s cat? Hmmm… no, that was Azrael. Close enough. Now I can’t take this character seriously, no matter how “ruthless and mysterious” he may be. Every time I hear his name I’ll be going “meow” in my head. 🙂