Fans have been loving His Dark Materials season two so far, as it follows Lyra and her new friend Will as they find themselves in a world different to their own. However, there is a major character from season one who is notably absent, James McAvoy.
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So where is the Becoming Jane actor, and will he be appearing in season two at all? Get the details here...
WATCH: James McAvoy isn't in His Dark Materials season two
While James was indeed due to appear in season two, it was revealed that the one-off special episode which would have focused entirely on his character, Lord Asriel, was cut due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Speaking to NME about the situation, visual effect supervisor Russell Dodgson explained: "It was quite clear about three days into filming that it wasn’t going to go further. Those three days were after a weekend when things really started to ramp up."
James plays Lord Asriel in the hit show
Speaking about what fans could have expected from the episode, which was sadly written out of the show, he continued: "This episode was a way of delving into a backstory which told you what Lord Asriel has been doing and also the history of Cittàgazze, this otherworldly town Lyra enters."
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Asriel's lack of presence in The Subtle Knife isn't too much of a surprise, and his character doesn't reappear in the novel series until the third and final book, The Amber Spyglass. HELLO! has also confirmed that he will not be making a cameo appearance in any of the other episodes.
Speaking about how they had written his character into the story, executive producer Jane Tranter told Radio Times: "He’s very much talked about, his presence is very much felt, but he’s not actually there.
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"So we played kind of detective with The Subtle Knife and figured out what Asriel might have been doing.
She concluded: "Maybe at some point in the future we can revisit it as a standalone. But essentially, our adaptation of The Subtle Knife had been completed."
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