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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Casting His Dark Materials

01:24 / 31.10.03

His Dark Materials: The Movie is allegedly going into production. The question is - who to cast? Who would make a good Lord Azriel? Who a good Mrs Coulter? And who a convincing Lyra?

In the immortal (almost) words of Lloyd Grossman - "Barbelith - it's over to you..."

A few prelimenary suggestions -

Mrs Coulter - Catherine Zita Jones?
Serafina Pekkala - Carrie-Ann Moss?
Iorek Bjernson - CGI, but with Vin Diesel's voice
Lord Azrael - George Clooney?
Mary Malone - Nicole Kidman?

Note that this game can be played with any book you like which hasn't been filmed yet.

13:30 / 31.10.03

Mrs Coulter - Joan Bakewell
Serafina Pekkala - Tilda Swinton
Iorek Bjernson - Bungle from Rainbow
Lord Azrael - Pete Postlethwaite
Mary Malone - Michelle Collins

13:42 / 31.10.03

The National Theatre in London is staging His Dark Materials in two parts over the next few months with Nicholas Hynter directing and starring, amongst others, Patricia Hodge as Mrs Coulter, Timothy Dalton as Lord Asriel and Niamh Cusack as Serafina. You can see who else here

I'd always envisaged Mrs Coulter as younger, but reckon Patricia Hodge is damn fine choice nonetheless. Timothy Dalton, however...

13:54 / 31.10.03

Mrs Coulter - Nicole Kidman
Serafina Pekkala - Cate Blanchett
Iorek Bjernson - Philip Seymour Hoffman
Lord Azrael - Damian Lewis
Mary Malone - Queen Latifah

14:01 / 31.10.03

Mrs Coulter is in her 40s or thereabouts, isn't she? And terribly glamorous.

Isabella Rosselini? But perhaps she is too nice. I mean - perhaps her face is too nice. Mrs Coulter should look like a hawk.

14:33 / 31.10.03

Joanna Lumley.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

14:40 / 31.10.03

They'll probably get John Rhys Bloody Davies to be one of the bears won't they?

Lord Asriel- Alan Rickman?
Pete Postlethwaite should be one of the gyptians.

20:14 / 31.10.03

Sigourney Weaver as Mrs Coulter. You know it makes sense.

To continue:

Kelly MacDonald as Mary Malone, I'm sure the Americans won't notice the accent fudge.
Terence Stamp. I know he did Asriel in the radio version, but he was kick-ass. Especially if he could, say, fuse Asriel with Wilson...
Steve Buscemi as Lee Scoresby.
Totally with the Pete Postelthwaite comment.
Alan Rickman, if you're going to have him, as Metatron. Sneer set to "low", power set to "high", hint of arrogance set to "TRUE".
Damien Lewis, if anything, as Will's father. Trying to cast that one is causing me problems.
I like Pete Postelthwaite as Farder Coram.
Iorek Byrnison: CGI. Voiced by David Bradley. (Who when he was little was the boy in Kes, and is now a fantastic actor with a great voice. And was majestic in The King is Alive. Trust me on that. British, character actor, unknown to big movie audiences.)

I will keep thinking on this...

Iorek Bjernson - CGI, but with Vin Diesel's voice
The world has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

nedrichards is confused

09:39 / 01.11.03

Wouldn't that be the second time Rickman's played the metatron? He also played it in that Kevin Smith Does Catholoicism! film a couple of years back.

Typecast as an angel? Whodathought.

00:16 / 05.02.05

Mrs Coulter - Saffron Burrows ( dyed black hair, if you must. ) Or Patsy Kensit.
Lord Azrael - Robson Greene/John Cleese/Richard E Grant
The Iron Bear - Bob Hoskyns, innit
Will's Father - Martin Clunnes
Will - '"Boy lands plumb role in play." And I know what for...'
The Wheelie Creatures - Greg Dyke doing the puppetry, and the sfx
Teh angels - Johnathan Ross and Elton John
Lee Scoresby - Neil Morrissey
The Unstereotypical Boat People - Are The Wurzels still available ? Otherwise Postlethwaite, Neeson, Davidson, Caine, 'Oskyns, Coltrane.
Lyla - Jodie Marsh, in a school uniform ( with her baps taped in obviously, otherwise crikey ! )
Pullman's voiceover, as the narrator, by Ben Elton.