Dakota Blue Richards, she very soon to be of The Golden Compass mega-fame, has lined up her first non-Dark Materials project.
In The Secret of Moonacre, Richards will play Maria, an orphan packed off to live with her uncle in the spooky Moonacre Manor. There she finds a magical land of strange creatures and learns that she's the only person who can save the threatened Moonacre Valley.
The $27million movie's cast already includes Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry, Natascha McElhone and Juliet Stevenseon. The film is written by Lucy Shuttleworth and Graham Alborough, based on Elizabeth Goudge's novel The Little White Horse, and will be directed by Gabor Csupo (Bridge To Terabithia).