‘Fleabag’ Star Andrew Scott Joins ‘His Dark Materials’ at HBO

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Andrew Scott, known to many as the “hot priest” from season 2 of “Fleabag,” has joined the cast of the “His Dark Materials” adaptation at HBO.

The announcement was made via a tweet on the series’ official Twitter account which shows Scott on set with Lin Manuel Miranda, who is set to play Lee Scoresby in the forthcoming show. Scott will play the character of Colonel John Parry, also known as Jopari, and will be coming aboard for the show’s already announced second season.

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In the books, Scott’s character accidentally travels to Lyra’s world where he becomes a renowned scholar and shaman. His dæmon in the novels takes the form of an osprey.

Scott also joins “Logan” standout Keen as the lead character of Lyra. James McAvoy plays the adventurer Lord Asriel whose secret expedition is at the center of the narrative, while Ruth Wilson is taking on the iconic role of the icy Mrs. Coulter. An earlier trailer had teased Coulter’s evil designs and the ferocity of her golden monkey daemon.

At a recent panel for the series, the cast and executive producer Jane Tranter discussed the series’ themes. Tranter insisted that, despite the protestations leveled at the 2007 film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novels, the HBO series “is not an attack on religion.”

“The religious controversy that was around the film was not relevant to the books themselves….Philip Pullman talks about depression, the control of information and the falsification of information….there is no direct contrast with any contemporary religious organization,” said Tranter.

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