When it comes to children's movies that are capable of causing tiny mental apocalypses upon viewing, Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal is the stuff of legend. And because Netflix has all the money in the world to keep subscribers entertained -- even if that entertainment comes in nightmarish bursts -- and the streaming giant will open that world back up again with the prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
That's right, the world of the 1982 cult-ish classic The Dark Crystal, Thra, will return for a trip back to its past (or something) for an all new set of TV adventures that will take place "many years" before those events of the film. The straight-to-series order is for ten episodes, so we'll have more than enough time with all these creatures to sate us for the rest of eternity.
While the plotline isn't the most stretched-out at this point, the announcement states that viewers will get to watch not just two but THREE Gelfling as they discover a huge secret. What secret would that be? Only the one behind the Skeksis' power! The epic journey that follows will incite a rebellion that puts the fate of Gelfling existence in the balance.
While the legendary Jim Henson obviously isn't still around to get back behind the camera (nor the film's co-director Frank Oz), Jim Henson's Creature Shop will once again provide a lot of what we'll be seeing on screen, and we're so hoping that the designs of the Gelfling characters aren't so dead-eyed and haunting as they were in the original. Jen and Kira's faces need never be replicated. As well, the original conceptual designer for Dark Crystal's feature, Brian Froud, will also be back on board for this new project. It's also worth noting that the practical visual effects will be buffered by some digital CGI, though the latter imagery will hopefully be for backgrounds and explosions.
What we're obviously all really wondering, though, is who will be doing the music for the new series?
The most contentious part of this prequel series, really, is that it will be directed and executive produced by Louis Leterrier, the man behind such so-so films as The Incredible Hulk and Now You See Me. He'll be working from scripts written by former Lost and The 100 writer/producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach -- who also created the stellar TV show The Middleman -- and Life in a Year scribes Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. Rita Peruggi, who has worked with Henson's productions since the mid-'80s, will co-produce.
Are you guys pumped to hear that Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will be assaulting your eyeballs on Netflix in the future? Or are you guys still bummed by that last Muppets TV show? Let us know and then check out our summer TV schedule to see all the shows hitting your small screens in the near future.
