The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film written and directed by Chris Weitz that is based on the 1995 novel Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, the first installment in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which was published as The Golden Compass in the United States. It stars Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter, Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra Belacqua, and Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel, alongside Sam Elliott, Ian McKellen, and Eva Green. In the film, Lyra joins a tribe of seafarers on a trip to the far North in search of children kidnapped by the Gobblers, a group supported by the universe's rulers, the Magisterium.

Christopher John Weitz is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work with his brother Paul on the comedy films American Pie and About a Boy; the latter earned the Weitz brothers a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Among his other main works, Weitz directed the film adaptation of the novel The Golden Compass and the film adaptation of New Moon from the series of Twilight books, wrote the screenplay for Disney's 2015 live-action adaptation of Cinderella, and co-wrote Rogue One with Tony Gilroy.