Nicole Kidman joins "The Golden Compass"

Nicole Kidman is in final negotiations to star in "The Golden Compass," an adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's best-selling "His Dark Materials" trilogy.

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.

Chris Weitz ("About a Boy") is directing for New Line. Production on the film, budgeted at $150 million, is scheduled to begin September 4 in the U.K.

Kidman last was seen on the big screen in 2005's "Bewitched." Her upcoming films include the Diane Arbus biopic "Fur" and the sci-fi thriller "The Visiting."