'His Dark Materials' Begins Shooting Final Season In U.K.

After the pandemic upended filming for His Dark Materials Season 2, leaving it an entire episode short of the original order, Season 3 has finally put boots on the ground to start filming. The series, which the BBC renewed for a third and final season in December of 2020, has been besieged by coronavirus pandemic delays. But with the show finally ready to go into production on its adaptation of Philip Pullman's final novel of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, it seems like fans will probably be waiting extra long to return to Lyra's world.

On the one hand, it was luck that got fans Season 2 relatively on time in the 2020-2021 TV season. The BBC greenlit Season 2 before Season 1 premiered, and the production took full advantage, filming most of the show's second set of episodes before the first season aired. But one episode remained unfinished, a "bridge" episode that would shoehorn in James McAvoy as Lord Asriel. (McAvoy was one of the show's most famous actors, but the second novel leaves his character out entirely.) But the pandemic upended all that, and McAvoy ended up in a single scene tacked onto the final episode of the already finished set.

Unfortunately, that also left little hope that the same magic could bring Season 3 to screens in 2021. Though there were points that the show could have gone ahead in 2020, the BBC waited to renew until Season 2 was complete. With filming underway now, His Dark Materials will sit out this year and return in 2022. At least fans have a picture of Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson ready to go to celebrate: