“It’s McAvoy as Asriel unleashed,” executive producer Jane Tranter previously told EW.

“He’s such a dick and he’s such a bad father,” McAvoy also remarked of his character. “He’s doing it for the right reasons, but he’s doing it all the wrong way. The destination is more important than the journey for him. The ends totally justify the means for him. He’s a leader and a world-changer and a thinker and a doer before he is a father.”

We also see the return of the prophesied Eve child Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen), who was kidnapped by her evil mother, Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson), in season two.

“There are forces out there, Lyra, that you can’t begin to understand,” Mrs Coulter tells Lyra. “I know you won’t believe me, but I am doing this for you.”

His Dark Materials season 3: a major battle is brewing in the first teaser trailer