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kottke.org posts about The Dark Crystal

The Trailer for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

posted by Jason Kottke   May 30, 2019

The first trailer for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Netflix's long-awaited prequel to Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal, is finally here. From Vanity Fair:

The new series, which takes place years before the events of the original film, follows three creatures, called Gelfling, who discover the horrifying secret behind the power of a group of villainous critters called the Skeksis. The heroes — Taron Egerton's Rian, Anya Taylor-Joy's Brea, and Nathalie Emmanuel's Deet — embark on an epic journey to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world, which, at the time of the film, is dying, with sickness spreading across the land as the Skeksis control the powerful Crystal of Truth.

As you can see from the trailer, the series uses puppets and not CGI characters, just like the original. The 10-part series debuts on Netflix on August 30. In the meantime, the original 1982 movie is available on Netflix right now.

Director's cut of The Dark Crystal

posted by Jason Kottke   Dec 06, 2013

Using a black & white workprint of The Dark Crystal that Jim Henson and Frank Oz wanted to release, YouTube user scoodidabop made a full-length director's cut of the film. It's a bit rough in spots, but the original vision is all there.

Production was supposed to have begun on a Dark Crystal sequel, but according to the Muppet Wiki, the project has been shelved.

They're making a Dark Crystal sequel

posted by Jason Kottke   May 07, 2010

It's called Power of the Dark Crystal.

Set hundreds of years after the events of the first movie, when the world has once again fallen into darkness, "Power of the Dark Crystal" follows the adventures of a mysterious girl made of fire who, together with a Gelfling outcast, steals a shard of the legendary crystal in an attempt to reignite the dying sun that exists at the center of the planet.

It couldn't possibly be better than the original: