‘The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance’: Netflix’s Prequel Series Will Be “Pure Puppetry”
Jim Henson’s 1982 fantasy filmThe Dark Crystalhas gone down in history as a master class in puppetry magic. And it’s important to the creative team behind the new Netflix prequel series that they get that aspect right.
At New York Comic-Con, directorLouis Leterrierand creative executive producerLisa Henson, Jim Henson’s daughter, promised thatThe Dark Crystal: Age of Resistancewill preserve the practical techniques of the ’80s classic and revealed a few more details about the highly anticipated 10-episode series.
Leterrier and Henson are eager to pay homage to the original film by keeping the then-groundbreaking effects exactly the same. At the show’s NYCC panel, Leterrier revealed that “We’re not using CGI on this one,“Varietyreported. “It’s puppets, man. Puppets!”
The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistanceuses handmade puppetry operated by puppeteers, much like Henson’s 1982 original. The biggest difference will be the use of green screens, which will allow the team to edit out the body of the puppeteer from the frame.
The series will be set before the events of the Henson and Frank Oz filmThe Dark Crystal, which followed an elf-like “Gelfling” named Jen who set out on a quest to restore balance to his world by returning the lost shard of a powerful gem. The prequel series was inspired by one indelible image fromThe Dark Crystal: crumbled remains of the Wall of Destiny seen in the original movie. “What was that culture, what was lost, what was that beautiful Gefling civilization?” Henson said at the panel, hinting that the prequel may give a glimpse of the planet Thra before the Dark Crystal was cracked. “It’s very developed, with a big canvas with many different group of Gelflings…it’s rich.”
But Leterrier and Henson’s primary goal is to introduce children these days to the joys that Jim Henson’s puppets brought them back in the ’80s. So while it’s a nostalgic return forDark Crystalfans, it will be a great intro point for the new generation.
“Kids these days haven’t seen puppets that look like this. It brings in everything you love about ‘Dark Crystal. Brian Froud, Wendy Froud, and Toby Froud — little Toby from ‘Labyrinth’ — all worked on our show, recreating the Skeksis and creating the new characters. So the design is exactly the same. The look is exactly the same. We shot on VistaVision. You’re going to like it.”
