The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is the upcoming prequel to the classic 1982 fantasy movie The Dark Crystal. The series has been in the works for a couple of years and finally hits Netflix on August 30. The first trailer has now been released.
Like the movie, which was co-directed by the late Muppets creator Jim Henson, the new show uses puppetry to create the world of the Dark Crystal. It looks visually stunning, and the trailer is packed with the weird creatures and striking set design that will be instantly recognisable to fans of the film. It looks like it’ll have the same mix of thrilling adventure and dark fantasy too–check the trailer out below, and the poster at the end of this story.
Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will run for 10 episodes. It has an impressive voicecast, which includes Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Jo, Nathalie Emmanuel, Mark Hamill, Jason Isaacs, Keegan-Michael Key, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong, and Alicia Vikander.
The official synopsis reads: “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance tells a new epic story, set many years before the events of the movie, and realized using classic puppetry with cutting edge visual effects. The world of Thra is dying. 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 Gelfling uncover the horrific truth behind the power of the Skeksis, an adventure unfolds as the fires of rebellion are lit and an epic battle for the planet begins.”
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Louis Leterrier spoke about the challenges involved with using puppetry rather than the CGI you’d expect for a show like this in 2019. “I was not fighting against anyone, I was fighting against common sense and practicality,” he said. “It’s so so complicated to build a puppet, hire puppeteers, all that stuff. We chose the long, hardest road and we’re very thankful [we did]. It looks absolutely stunning.”
