The show is based on Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, the last book of which is named The Amber Spyglass.

Here is everything that fans need to know about the show and its return.

When is His Dark Materials Season 3 Out?

His Dark Materials is an HBO and BBC original series, meaning it will be released in North America on HBO, and in the U.K. it will come out on the BBC.

The show will premiere on HBO on Monday, December 5 with its first two episodes airing back-to-back on the network from 9 to 11 p.m. ET/PT. The episodes will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

His Dark Materials will have eight episodes in total, which will air on HBO in two-episode batches until the season finale on December 26.

Who Will Star in His Dark Materials Season 3?

Several actors from the His Dark Materials franchise will be returning for the show’s swansong, including Keen, Amir Wilson, James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson.

McAvoy and Ruth Wilson will once again portray Lyra’s parents Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter, while Amir Wilson will reprise his role as Will Parry.

Other cast members include Simone Kirby as Mary Malone, Will Keen as Father President McPhail, Jade Anouka as Ruta Skadi, and Ruta Gedminstas as Serafina Pekkala.

Newcomers to the show for its third season include Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Commander Ogunwe, Jamie Ward as Father Gomez, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Simon Harrison and Chipo Chung as the rebel angels Balthamos, Baruch and Xaphania, and Amber Fitzgerald-Woolfe as Ama.

Actors who are set to make a reappearance in the show, despite their characters’ deaths in Season 2, include Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby and Andrew Scott as Jopari.

What is His Dark Materials Season 3 About?

Season 3 of His Dark Materials will pick up where Season 2 left off, with Will searching for Lyra after she was abducted by her mother.

As detailed in The Amber Spyglass, Lyra’s arc as the prophesized child and Will’s as the bearer of The Subtle Knife will come to a head as they go on their most dangerous journey yet to a dark place they may never be able to return from.

Wilson has teased Will’s journey in Season 3, telling Newsweek: “At the end of Season 2, his father tells him that you need to deliver the knife to Asriel and that’s kind of like a driving factor for Will in this new season.

“Of course, when he gets information he goes back to tell Lyra and realizes that she’s gone, and then Season 3 we pick him up looking for Lyra, with the hopes that once he will be able to fulfill his father’s [dying wish] and then [in] Season 3 I guess you’ll find out what that journey entails.

“They end up getting side-tracked getting pulled to the Land of the Dead and all sorts, but it was fun for me to play a more grown-up version of Will.”

Meanwhile, Lyra’s father Lord Asriel is amassing his forces to embark on his great war against the Authority and his angels, in a bid to save all the different worlds that the being has ruled over for too long.

Is There a Trailer for His Dark Materials Season 3?

Yes, a trailer for His Dark Materials Season 3 has been released and it gives viewers a taste of what’s to come in the show’s final episodes.

His Dark Materials premieres on Monday, December 5 on HBO and HBO Max.