Lin-Manuel Miranda's favourite part of 'His Dark Materials' new season might be Hot Priest Andrew Scott

Fantasy fans can prepare to travel through worlds again because His Dark Materials (Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Crave) is back to its onscreen life with Season Two picking up with the second book of Philip Pullman's trilogy, The Subtle Knife. Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) are back and joined by many familiar faces, including some new additions to the cast (anyone call for a Hot Priest?). Chatting about the new season, Lin-Manual Miranda revealed what's new with his character, the aëronaut Lee Scoresby, and who his favourite casting addition is (hint: PWB would be proud).Lin-Manuel told etalk that Lee is different this time around specifically because of his relationship with Lyra Belacqua, the young girl he is trying to protect. With all the excitement for the new season and his character's return, Miranda described how meeting Lyra has affected Lee going into Season 2. "It's totally changed his life. When we first meet Lee he's picking pockets and getting beat up in bars and looking out for himself," the Broadway star shared, adding that he thinks Lee sees a kindred spirit in Lyra."He also sees that she's just essentially good and in this war that seems to be taking shape he goes 'I don't know about these larger forces, but I'm going to have this kid's back because this kid is going to do the right thing in whatever situation she's in,'" Lin-Manuel explained. "He goes to great lengths to protect her and sacrifices a lot to keep her safe."Lin-Manuel said that His Dark Materials was the first book series he read together with his wife, Vanessa Nadal. He said she picks his brain about what's happening in the fantasy world. "One of the things that's really exciting about Season Two is while it's very faithful to the books—and I think fans of the books are going to be really happy—there are detours in the storytelling that are not in the books," he said. "It was always so fun to come home to Vanessa and tell her that these two characters are meeting, and she goes 'They don't meet in the books!'"[video_embed id='2001530']RELATED: There’s going to be a ‘Fleabag’ reunion on S2 of ‘His Dark Materials’[/video_embed]The Hamilton star said that he got to meet new cast addition Andrew Scott, who plays Colonel John Parry, and shared that the actor is "so extraordinary." He said that he had just gone to a play that Scott was in the week before they filmed together, and he was "intimidated and excited" to work with him after seeing his "incredible" performance on stage."We were in a hot air balloon together while all the Fleabag stuff was really at its peak, while people were really discovering and falling in love with him in that show. It doesn't go to his head in any way," he said of the Fleabag star. Lin-Manuel set the scene by saying they were having conversations in the hot air balloon while they were being blown with wind and rain machines while his phone was buzzing off the hook with people saying, "You're with Hot Priest!"

Bloop Hot Priest Watch #HisDarkMaterials pic.twitter.com/cMRWRXis2m

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) November 19, 2019

Getting into more nitty-gritty plot info, Lin-Manuel said that the witches in His Dark Materials are "an incredible wild card" because they're aware of the different universes that exist. When it comes to Lee's relationship with the queen of the Lake Enara witches, Serafina Pekkala, the actor said that it's "a testament to Lee's character" because the witches live so much longer and don't really get close to others. "It also helps that I'm also working with Ruta [Gedmintas], who I actually was in a series with before His Dark Materials," he revealed. "We were on a show that only lasted five minutes years ago, but we stayed friends, so it's wonderful to act with her in this capacity."Lee looks pretty battle-worn in the latest trailer for Season 2 of the series, and Lin-Manuel says to be "hopeful and very worried," adding that his character goes through a lot to keep Lyra safe, and it takes a great toll on him. "There's a lot of unexpected twists and turns on that journey," he added.Watch His Dark Materials Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Crave.[video_embed id='2030335']BEFORE YOU GO: Cat attempts daily hilarious attack on mail carrier[/video_embed]