The BBC has released the first trailer for their upcoming adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

The series is a co-production with the BBC, HBO, Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema (with the latter still owning the rights).

His Dark Materials takes place in an alternate world, where every human’s soul is manifested in the form of an animal creature (known as a daemon). Residing at Jordan College, orphaned girl Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen) learns that one of her friends has been kidnapped. She sets off on a journey, where she learns of a mysterious phenomenon called Dust and uncovers a sinister organisation referred to as ‘Gobblers’.

The series also stars Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, James McAvoy as Lord Asriel, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby and Clarke Peters as Dr Carne.

The teaser is just 30 seconds long, but offers a first look at the main characters as well as a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ look at the alethiometer.

The first season is expected to adapt the first book in Pullman’s trilogy, Northern Lights, and comprises of eight episodes. The first two episodes are directed by Tom Hooper (of The King’s Speech and The Danish Girl). It was reported by Deadline last year that a second season is also on the way. Northern Lights was previously adapted as the film The Golden Compass, directed by Chris Weitz and released back in 2007.

His Dark Materials is to air on BBC One later this year.