His Dark Materials to assess Welsh studios
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Recently-established production company Bad Wolf will spend the next few months assessing studio facilities in Wales that could host the epic fantasy series His Dark Materials.
Bad Wolf was set up by BBC veterans Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, who have revealed to news outlet Wales Online that the ambitious TV adaptation of the fantasy trilogy will be filmed mostly on sound stages.
The first part of His Dark Materials was made into the movie The Golden Compass (pictured) in 2007, but the trilogy wasn't completed.
Pinewood Studio Wales in Cardiff and the nearby Dragon Studios are both being considered for the shoot, as are adapted warehouse facilities in the Swansea area that were set up for the US fantasy drama Da Vinci’s Demons.
“Around 70% will be shot internally in studios in Wales and between 15% and 20% externally,” Tranter told Wales Online in reference to His Dark Materials. “Now the search begins, working with the creative community to find the very best studio in Wales.
“This is an extremely significant story for Bad Wolf and our partners in the Welsh Government and the different aspects of the creative community in Wales.”
Bad Wolf expects to deliver £100m to Wales in economic benefits through film and TV productions over the next ten years. Tranter added that she believed His Dark Materials could deliver this to the country on its own.
The company is also working on a TV adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s historical Arthurian drama The Warlord Chronicles, which is also planned for a Wales shoot.
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