AceShowbiz -

Undoubtedly making a great line-up of cast, Daniel Craig has reached an agreement to star in "The Golden Compass" alongside Eva Green and Nicole Kidman. The first male thespian to join in, Craig has been billed to portray Lord Asriel, a ruthless and mysterious adventurer who is also the uncle of lead character Lyra Belacqua, played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards.

This inclusion therefore marks a reunion among these three Hollywood stars as Craig recently worked with Green in filming the 21st installment of James Bond series, "Casino Royale" while performing opposite Kidman in "The Invasion."

Set to start filming on September 4 in U.K to meet a November 16, 2007 release, "The Golden Compass" is the first installment of the intended New Line trilogy based on Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Material" series. Chris Weitz is on board to both direct and write the script with Andrew Miano and Bill Carraro seating as the producers.