It has been 17 years since Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy was concluded, and the author has recently announced a new trilogy set in the same universe. The upcoming series will be called "The Book of Dust."

An article from Philip Pullman's official website revealed some details about the upcoming trilogy. In the article, Pullman shared that "The Book of Dust" will focus on Lyra. He said, "Lyra is at the centre of the story. Events involving her open the first chapter, and will close the last."

Pullman continued, "I've always wanted to tell the story of how Lyra came to be living at Jordan College and, in thinking about it, I discovered a long story that began when she was a baby and will end when she's grown up. This volume and the next will cover two parts of Lyra's life: starting at the beginning of her story and returning to her 20 years later."

According to the author, "The Book of Dust" is neither a prequel nor a sequel. He jokes that it is just an "sequel." The trilogy will neither precede "His Dark Materials" nor follow it. While it is a different story, it will feature a familiar setting and characters.

Pullman also shared that he revisited Lyra's world to bring more light to the mysterious Dust. The author added, ".... at the centre of The Book of Dust is the struggle between a despotic and totalitarian organization, which wants to stifle speculation and enquiry, and those who believe thought and speech should be free."

According to IGN, the books in "His Dark Materials" have sold more than 17.5 million copies to date. The first book in the series, "The Golden Compass," was turned into a film of the same name which starred Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Dakota Blue Richards.

"The Golden Compass" film performed poorly at the box office, and the planned sequels for the movie franchise were canceled. However, fans of the series still have more to be excited about because the BBC is currently developing a miniseries based on Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials," per Hypable.