A follow-up to Jim Henson and Frank Oz's The Dark Crystal has been in the works for well over a decade now. A while back the news was that the project was tentatively titled The Power of the Dark Crystal, and that the plan was to blend old-skool puppetry and animatronics with animated CGI backgrounds. But while the focus on physical puppets remains paramount, the project itself has developed into Netflix prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance. We've already seen a trailer of sorts: now the streaming service has released a trio of new character images, along with a full cast list.
Set many years before the events of Henson & Oz's 1982 fantasy puppet classic, Age Of Resistance finds the world of Thra in its death throes. The Crystal of Truth is at the heart of Thra, a source of untold power. But it is damaged, corrupted by the evil Skeksis, and a sickness spreads across the land. When three of the elfin race the Gelflings uncover the horrific truth behind the power of the vulture-like Skeksis, an adventure unfolds as the fires of rebellion are lit and an epic battle for the planet begins.
Leading the voice cast are Taron Egerton as Rian (below left), Anya Taylor-Joy as Brea (above), and Nathalie Emmanuel as Rian (below right).
They're joined by (deep breath), Caitriona Balfe, Helena Bonham-Carter, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Theo James, Toby Jones, Shazad Latif, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong and Alicia Vikander. And that's the Gelfling camp alone. Representing the Skeksis we've got Harvey Fierstein, Mark Hamill, Ralph Ineson, Jason Isaacs, Keegan-Michael Key, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Simon Pegg and Andy Samberg. Oh, and Donna Kimball is voicing Aughra, the mystic old woman who, in the original movie, lives in an elaborate observatory and can remove one of her eyeballs. Fingers crossed her dog-thing Fizzgig is back for more action too. Maybe he's a puppy-thing in this one.
Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company said, "It is humbling to see so many truly gifted actors join the Dark Crystal universe by adding their voices to Age of Resistance. As with the original film, we are now adding a voice cast of the highest caliber that will provide textures and range to the puppetry performances that are the heart of the series. It is thrilling to see this assembled team of artists, puppeteers and now voice actors, many inspired by my father’s original film, work together to realize this unique world – through performance and craft – at a scale that is rarely seen today."
Louis Leterrier doubles up as director and exec-producer, with the script team comprised of Jeffrey Addiss, Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Will Matthews. The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance will be ten episodes long, but Netflix are being typically cagey about its actual release date. Its current official status is "post-production".
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire on Great Magazines and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.