'The Dark Crystal' Is Coming to Netflix. As A NEW Series

And it will have puppets and everything! We will admit, we are excited about this. We adore the film but it's pretty slow in places, and there's a lot of potential - and history - the film didn't explore that we'd love to see expanded on. In fact, this series will be a prequel, taking place in that world decades before it reached the crisis in which Gelflings Jen and Kira (and Fizzgig! And the Landstriders!), took #alltherisks and rescued everyone.

From the Henson Company Press Release:

HOLLYWOOD, CA (May 18, 2017) - A beloved classic from the 80s marks its return as Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment network, will bring The Jim Henson Company’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance  exclusively to members around the world. The 10-episode fantasy adventure series is a prequel to the groundbreaking 1982 fan favorite The Dark Crystal, and takes place many years before the events of the film. The series will be shot in the U.K., and will star an ensemble of fantastical, state-of-the-art creatures created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™ and Brian Froud, the original feature’s conceptual designer. 

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance returns to the world of Thra with an all new adventure. When three Gelfling discover the horrifying secret behind the Skeksis’ power, they set out on an epic journey to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world. 

Feature film director Louis Leterrier (Now You See Me, The Incredible Hulk) will executive produce the series and direct. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will be a Netflix original series produced by The Jim Henson Company and executive produced by Letterier, Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford. Longtime Henson collaborator Rita Peruggi will serve as producer and Henson’s Blanca Lista will serve as a co-executive producer. Leading the writing are co-executive producers Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (Life in a Year), and Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, The 100). 

“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will combine the art of puppetry perfected by The Jim Henson Company, with Louis’ vision, powerful storytelling and a mix of cutting-edge digital imagery and visual effects,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President of Original Content at Netflix. “I can’t wait for families around the world to see how we bring these unique characters to life.” 

 

“Louis Leterrier is passionate about the world of The Dark Crystal and has an incredible creative vision for the series. He brings this passion to every facet of the production as he leads the talented team of artists and writers that are bringing this entire universe to life,” said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. "Netflix has a deep respect for my father's original work and the many people it inspired. They are the perfect partners to create this next epic chapter in The Dark Crystal story for new fans and the loyal fans who have waited so long for more adventures from this world."

Brand new 'state-of-the-art' creatures! *swoon* (Perhaps we're super excited because our newsroom is filled with all kinds of creatures - from fairy tale ones, and Henson creations to yo-kai, but these pop-culture touchstones are major tools for us when we teach art and fairy tales at schools and other kid-centric places, and have guaranteed kids love and remember what we're working with them on in following years - so YES PLEASE! Plus, yeah, they're usually pretty flippin' cute - see below for a selection of 'teaching tools'.)

Aside: anyone notice that 'Age of Resistance' subtitle in there? We have a feeling that is pretty purposeful, and we're looking forward to seeing how that develops. In fact, we're going to tag this with our #RRR hashtag, just because we have a feeling...

Here's the promotional teaser trailer, which doesn't really show anything new, but will get folks excited about the concept anyway - unless it doesn't. We're sure some folks aren't going to be thrilled about the idea. At least it won't be a retread of classic footage but more of an exploration of the world which fascinated so many of us as children.

And we're really excited to see all the folklore world-building that will come out of this! Folklore takes center stage in the film, with knowledge and exploration of those tales being the key to knowing what to do.

PS Anyone noticing we're kinda going back to the that 80's/early 90's era of musicals and fantasy films and series? Anyone also noticing we're rehashing similar issues to those of that time period, societally speaking? Yeah.