The Dark Crystal Prequel Has A Star-Packed Lineup
The Jim Henson Company has been in a weird position ever since they sold the Muppet characters to Disney. The sale was only for Kermit and the cast of The Muppet Show, not any other series Henson ever created. Ever since, the company that bears Jim’s name has soldiered on, living off its less popular but still somewhat beloved properties.
In his later years, Henson pushed the limits of puppetry in a frustrated effort to break the “kiddie” image the medium had. A lot of his projects during the 80s had dark themes. lots of shadows, monsters that weren’t funny, and mature storytelling. 1982’s The Dark Crystal was exhibit A for this phase of his life, and now it’s coming back.
JHC launched a Dark Crystal comic book last year, but they want to do more. They’re now hard at work on a Dark Crystal TV series, set before the events of the movie. Netflix bought ten episodes, which will premiere on the streaming service eventually, probably next year. We’ve known this for months, but today we found out who’s starring. The cast is loaded.
Check out this list: Helena Bonham-Carter, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Harris Dickinson, Theo James, Toby Jones, Shazad Latif, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong, Alicia Vikander, Caitriona Balfe, Donna Kimball, Harvey Fierstein, Ralph Ineson, Andy Samberg, Simon Pegg, Keegan-Michael Key, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jason Isaacs, and Mark Hamill. Those aren’t even the main characters, who are played by Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nathalie Emmanuel.
This is all we know about the show this far: the official title is The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and it will center on three Gelflings (that’s what they call the noseless humanoids this series centers on) who “discover the horrifying secret behind the Skeksis’ power” and “set out on an epic journey to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world.” But they can’t succeed TOO well, or the original movie will never happen.