Chris Weitz, the director, has horrified fans by announcing that references to the church are likely to be banished in his film. Meanwhile the “Authority”, the weak God figure, will become “any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual”.

The studio wants alterations because of fears of a backlash from the Christian Right in the United States. The changes are being made with the support of Pullman, who told The Times last year that he received “a large amount” for the rights.

Weitz, a rising Hollywood star who directed American Pie and About A Boy, said that the studio, Nine Line Cinema, had expressed concern that His Dark Materials’ perceived anti-religiosity might make “it an inviable project financially”.

In Pullman’s Carnegie Medal-winning books, religion is spared no indignity, with nuns turning into atheists and the church described as “wrong and bad”. The film trilogy, the first of which is expected in 2006, has already run into difficulty after Sir Tom Stoppard, the Oscar-winning playwright, was dumped from the project and his draft shelved.

Although he is not directly involved with the film, the author has had many meetings with the team and has seen a treatment, or outline, of the first of the three films.

Pullman was unavailable for comment yesterday, but his agent, Caradoc King, said that he was happy with the work so far. “Of course New Line want to make money, but Mr Weitz is a wonderful director and Philip is very supportive. You have to recognise that it is a challenge in the climate of Bush’s America,” he said.

In an interview with The Times last year, Pullman was asked whether turning his books into films would compromise his vision. “Why say yes when they come to you with large amounts of money? I can’t imagine why,” he replied, laughing.

Weitz made these controversial remarks in an interview with bridgetothestars.net, one of the many His Dark Materials fan sites. He said: “New Line is a company that makes films for economic returns. You would hardly expect them to be anything else. My job is to get the film made in such a way that the spirit of the piece is carried through to the screen and to do that I must contend with the fears of the studio.

“Needless to say, all my best efforts will be directed towards keeping the work as liberating and iconoclastic an experience as I can. But there may be some modification of terms. You will probably not hear of the church, but you will hear of the Magisterium. Those who will understand will understand.”

He said that he shared Pullman’s view that the Authority could represent any repressive establishment — political, totalitarian, fundamentalist or communist. “This gives me a certain amount of leeway in navigating the very treacherous issues that beset adapting His Dark Materials for the screen.”

Fans have reacted with outrage. Writing on the same website, one said: “Do we really dare let someone with such a stunted imagination take on our beloved trilogy? Or rather, do we dare shun the opportunity to fight someone who will sacrifice content for net profit?”

In the interview, Weitz said that the daemons would be “largely filmed with animals” and he was hoping filming would take place in Worcester College, Oxford, East Anglia and possibly Iceland. He insisted that he was not tempted to “dumb it down”.

The books have already been turned into a highly successful two-part production at the National Theatre.

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