Based on the bestselling book by Philip Pullman, the project will be directed by Chris Weitz and distributed by New Line Cinema. Dakota Blue Richards has been announced to play Lyra, a girl who "discovers she is at the heart of a hideous conspiracy and that the fate of many children rests with her. She embarks on a journey to the far north to save her best friend and encounters shape-shifting creatures, witches and a variety of otherworldly characters."

Kidman will play Mrs. Coulter, a sinister scholar and socialite with a mysterious past who has a secret link to Lyra.