His Dark Materials spoilers follow.
You might assume that His Dark Materials was always going to end with season three. There are only three books in the original trilogy, after all, and each season has corresponded to one of these individual books.
However, there were plans at one point to extend the show beyond three seasons, and that "heavy" final episode has renewed our hopes for more.
After Lyra and Will part ways one last time, a final title card teased that the story might not be over just yet:
"Lyra went on to be educated at St Sophia’s College in Oxford, where she was taught how to once again read the alethiometer… Which would come in useful one day, when Lyra and Pan would go on to have a further great adventure."
So does this mean that His Dark Materials is coming back for a fourth season? Or what about a spinoff? And why was the show cancelled in the first place? Here's everything you need to know about the future of His Dark Materials onscreen.
Why His Dark Materials was cancelled
As mentioned earlier, the idea of adapting Philip Pullman's book trilogy into a TV trilogy just makes a lot of sense. However, you might be surprised to hear that executive producer Jane Tranter originally planned to extend the show much further than just three seasons.
"I wanted to split [The Amber Spyglass] in two, but we’re doing it in one," she explained to Deadline back in 2020. "You can’t always have what you want. The Amber Spyglass is quite right adapted into eight episodes and I will fully and humbly admit I was completely wrong."
But it wasn't just four seasons in the pipeline. According to the Radio Times, His Dark Materials was supposed to run for as long as nine seasons at one point.
"But unfortunately, that’s probably the wrong thing for an audience,” Tranter explained during a panel at Edinburgh International TV Festival. "Some would have liked it, but it’s expensive and it’s a season-a-book and that’s that and now it’s finishing."
Whether you're happy or not that the show's ended with just three seasons, at least a whole story was told this time around. Fans of the original His Dark Materials movie know what it's like to see their beloved adaptation come up short in more ways than one...
Will there be a His Dark Materials spinoff or movie?
The final episode of His Dark Materials ends with a title card that suggests this ending isn't so final after all: "Lyra and Pan would go on to have a further great adventure..."
So what could this new adventure entail? Author Philip Pullman has regularly ventured back into Lyra's world with numerous short stories and even a brand-new trilogy named The Book of Dust, which could serve as the foundation for a whole new spinoff.
So far, two new books have been published, La Belle Sauvage (a prequel to the events of His Dark Materials) and The Secret Commonwealth, while the third is still currently in the works.
Back in 2020, executive producer Jane Tranter told the Radio Times in 2020 that she might be open to adapting these new chapters of the story one day:
"La Belle Sauvage has got Lyra as a baby, and gives some of Asriel and Coulter’s backstory, and some of Lyra’s origin story. And The Secret Commonwealth is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I just don’t think there is a better study of depression, in some ways, in a fantasy landscape."
"It’s the most exciting story but, like everything Philip does, it has many levels to it," Tranter added. "And it’s an extraordinary piece… so huge and ambitious. But if anyone ever gave us the opportunity to do it, we’d be there."
As both a prequel and sequel to the events depicted in the first three seasons of His Dark Materials, The Book of Dust trilogy could absolutely work as a continuation of Lyra's story onscreen. The only issue we can foresee is that the trilogy hasn't been completed yet.
On October 3, 2022, Pullman told a fan (via Twitter) that he's still in the midst of writing the final chapter — "I'm up to page 275" — so producers like Jane Tranter might want to wait until they've read the final pages before committing to a new trilogy onscreen.
That being said, His Dark Materials doesn't necessarily have to continue as a trilogy. There are also plenty of shorter stories that a one-off special or even a film could draw on.
There's The Collectors, which serves as an origin story for the deliciously evil Marisa Coulter, although it would be a shame to recast Ruth Wilson with a younger replacement given how excellent she is in the role.
To keep Dafne Keen in the running, the BBC and HBO could also adapt Pullman's novella titled Lyra’s Oxford, which follows Lyra two years after the events of His Dark Materials. That option certainly makes the most scene if the finale's last title card is anything to go by — although they better hurry up before Dafne grows too old for the part.
In an interview for the launch of the final season, Dafne expressed how sad she was at the series ending, so there is the chance she would come back in the future.
"It's bittersweet, I'd say," she said about the finale (via Radio Times). "It's sad because of the people you leave behind and all of the experiences we had and all the good times we had on set with all of the crew and stuff."
"But i's really nice to see the story wrap up and be privileged enough to tell it and to get three seasons out of it, which has been an honour."
There is also the chance that a completely new story set in the world of His Dark Materials could work, although the fans are extremely loyal to the source material, and given the contents of said material, this would be a hard one to get right without Pullman's direct involvement.
His Dark Materials is available on BBC iPlayer in the UK and HBO in the US.
![His Dark Materials Season 2 (Includes 4 Art Cards) [DVD] [2020]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1607942882-415ghtY9aQL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=320%3A%2A "His Dark Materials Season 2 (Includes 4 Art Cards) [DVD] [2020]")
![His Dark Materials - Season 1 (Includes 4 Art Cards) [DVD] [2020]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1605013803-51p1sIg66kL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=320%3A%2A "His Dark Materials - Season 1 (Includes 4 Art Cards) [DVD] [2020]")
