Golden Compass lays the foundation for better sequels

In a very recent interview,director Chris Weitz stated:

"And as for those who are concerned that I have not used the word "Church" but only the word "Magisterium" for the bad guys, and that sort of thing, I would advise them to do a little research into the meaning of the word "Magisterium" for starters. Some people will only be satisfied if the film I've made is an outright attack on religion, which to me shows that they have misapprehended the meaning of Pullman's books as much as the "other side."

It's true, though, that "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass" tread in territory that is much more controversial than the first book. This is also addressed by a bunch of questions that I will lasso under the heading "what next?" Well, though I saw it as my duty to build the franchise of "His Dark Materials" on as solid a grounding as I could, it would all be in vain if the second and third films did not have the intellectual depth and the iconoclasm of the second and third books. The whole point, to me, of ensuring that "The Golden Compass" is a financial success is so that we have a solid foundation on which to deliver a faithful, more literal adaptation of the second and third books. This is important: whereas "The Golden Compass" had to be introduced to the public carefully, the religious themes in the second and third books can't be minimized without destroying the spirit of these books. There is simply no way to adapt them without dealing with Lyra's destined role, her secret name, and the war in the heavens. I will not be involved with any "watering down" of books two and three, since what I have been working towards the whole time in the first film is to be able to deliver on the second and third films. If I sense that this is not possible, there's no point my continuing to work on them."

Bottom line: The Golden Compass is being made as marketable as possible so that it will provide a solid financial foundation for the rest of the trilogy, and so that it will establish a loyal fanbase who will be then willing to follow Pullman and Weitz into much darker and more complex philosophical territory. Furthermore, as the article writes, the more people see the movie, or even just hear about it, the more will be intrigued enough to read the books. And that can only be a good thing.

For fans of the books who are concerned, here are some of the religious aspects which have been maintained in The Golden Compass film:

The evil organization is still called the Magisterium, which refers to the teaching body of the Catholic Church. Its members wear robes, medallions, and stiff vertical white collars. A district office of the Magisterium is covered in medieval religious icons. Mrs. Coulter has angels on her ceiling. Most importantly, the Magisterium condemns scientific research as "heresy" (a purely religious term) because it contradicts received teaching. Mrs. Coulter explains that Dust came into the world when people disobeyed The Authority. That's right, The Authority. They don't explain who that is yet, but that doesn't mean they won't.