Nicole Kidman is in final negotiations to star in The Golden Compass, New Line Cinema's adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's best-selling "His Dark Materials" trilogy being directed by Chris Weitz, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Dakota Blue Richards already has been cast as 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.