His Dark Materials star promises brutal knife battles in ‘bigger, better and darker’ second series
HIS Dark Materials is set to up the ante when it returns for its second season later this year.
The fantasy drama, based on the novels by Phillip Pullman and produced by HBO and the BBC, amassed a broad fan base after hitting screens last year.
Now Amir Wilson, who plays Will Parry in the show, has teased what’s in store in the upcoming episode and teased a much grittier, more action-packed story arc.
“It’s bigger, better, darker. A lot darker,” he told Radio Times.
“Three words to describe it? I’d say adventure, bravery…and knives.”
Fans of the books will know that the second series will track the events of The Subtle Knife – in which Will battles for control of a magical artefact.
Wilson said the combat sequences around the enchanted knife were a highlight during filming.
“The knife fight. That’s my favourite part, we had a lot of stunt training for the fight,” he added.
In a diversion from the chronology of the books, Will was introduced in the first series, something that doesn’t unfold in The Northern Lights.
Wilson explained that this decision was taken so that viewers could get to know the character before his decidedly more pivotal role in the upcoming twists and turns.
This was kept a secret, meaning Wilson was unable to take part in the promotion of the show.
“They wanted to have a bit of Will’s backstory that you didn’t get as much of in the book, so they decided to put that into season one,” he explained.
“It was quite hard, because obviously I’d talk about the show, and say that I was involved in it, but no-one knew that I was involved with season one, so it was quite hard to keep it a secret. So when it came out it was a big relief.”
However, since his inclusion was kept under wraps, he didn’t get a chance to bond with the rest of the cast initially.
Fortunately, he said working on series 2 had given him the chance to connect with his co-stars, something he thoroughly enjoyed.
“I didn’t know what to expect from meeting everyone, it was a big show to be going into, and I hadn’t done much before,” he continued.
“But everyone was really nice, I got along with everyone really well. Yeah, it was a really good time.”
Wilson said that while a third series was yet to be confirmed, he was hopeful the drama would be renewed.
The young actor is also set to appear in upcoming Netflix show The Letter for the King, which dropped its first trailer last week.
His Dark Materials series 1 is available to stream on iPlayer now.