Andrew Scott joins "His Dark Materials" at HBO – Variety

The announcement was made via a tweet on the official Twitter account of the series, which shows Scott on the set with Lin Manuel Miranda, who will play Lee Scoresby in the next show. Scott will play the character of Colonel John Parry, also known as Jopari. "His Dark Materials" is expected to debut later this year and has already been renewed for a second season.

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

Scott also joins "Logan" Keen is the main character of Lyra. James McAvoy plays the adventurer Lord Asriel whose secret expedition is at the center of the story, while Ruth Wilson assumes the iconic role of the icy Mrs. Coulter. A previous trailer had mocked Coulter's evil designs and the ferocity of his golden monkey demon.

In a recent panel for the series, troupe and executive producer Jane Tranter addressed the themes of the series. Tranter insisted that, despite the protests raised during the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novels in 2007, the HBO series "is not an attack on religion".

"The religious controversy around the film was not about the books themselves … .Philip Pullman talks about depression, information control and information falsification … there is no direct contrast to a contemporary religious organization, "said Tranter.