Having been recruited by Her Majesty’s Secret Service as the new James Bond, actor Daniel Craig will take on a more sinister role in New Line Cinema’s The Golden Compass, the first feature film based on the bestselling fantasy book trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Production on the film is slated to begin on Sept. 4 in the U.K.
Adapted for the screen and directed by Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Antz), The Golden Compass revolves around a young girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend and encounters shape-shifting creatures, witches and other strange and enchanting characters in parallel universes. Craig will play Lord Asriel, a ruthless adventurer with a mysterious past. He joins a cast which includes Nicole Kidman, Eva Green and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards.
Visual effects work in The Golden Compass is being overseen by Academy Award-nominated vfx supervisor Mike Fink (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, Road to Perdition). The film is being produced by Deborah Forte of Scholastic, the U.K. publisher of the His Dark Materials books, with Paul Weitz and Andrew Miano of Depth of Field exec. producing. New Line plans to release the pic on Nov. 16, 2007. Craig will make his Bond debut in Casino Royale this Nov. 17.
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