2007 will bring the His Dark Materials trilogy to the masses, with the first installment, entitled The Golden Compass (the book is known as Northern Lights over in the UK). Only a few years old, it tell the tale of a young girl from an alternative universe finding a way to cross dimensions, and discover a cross-universe conspiracy of epic proportions. It won’t be long before the big debate between which is better, this or Lord of the Rings, will ensue.

Already shot, here’s a few photos of the first film, due out in December. A few revelations are brought by the pictures, all cast related.

Rumour has it that author Philip Pullman wanted Samuel Jackson as Texan baloon-man Lee Scorsby, but here we can see Sam Elliott. Personally, I feel he’s a little too old-looking for the role, but he’s better than Sam “The party’s over” Jackson.

Here we see Nicole Kidman as the dastardly Ms. Coulter, and although she’s blonde, where the book describes her as a brunette, her angelic glow is perfectly eerie. There’s something sinister about that woman’s youth anyway.

This is my favourite picture so far. Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards is protagonist Lyra, and this perfectly personifies her character… cute, but defiant, a trait that sets her off into her quantum adventure.

Daniel Craig plays the ambiguous character Lord Asriel. Like Gollum his role in the adventure remains unknown, but whichever side he takes, it will be crucial. Craig is an odd choice, I’ve yet to see him play someone so self-assured and, well, lordly, to pull this off.

Fans of the books may be wondering right now, where exactly the daemons are. for the unitiated, in Lyra’s universe, a person’s soul is embodied in a creature that remains forever bound to its human. The creature shifts its shape until a person reaches sexual maturity, where the daemon fixes on a single aminal that best represents their combined personality. The CGI is obviously yet to be applied to the footage shot, and hence we’re just left with the locations and characters. There’s a long way to go yet.

But don’t get too excited. It was written, and will be directed, by Chris Weitz. That’s right, the man behind American Pie. Excuse me if I don’t jump for joy. There was also upcry when it was mentioned that the religious aspects of the trilogy will be toned down. Which is a bit difficult considering God becomes a huge player in the third part. But Weitz has assured that religion will be represented by in a euphimistic manner. I still feel the production is being a bit too cautious, and that the film will still make astounding profits no matter what, but what do you expect from Hollywood?

Below are a few more pictures, and there’s even more here. Enjoy.