Of all his work, Jim Hanson called The Dark Crystal the one he was most proud of. Now, decades later, his daughter is revisiting the world of Gelflings, Skeksis, and Mystics in the 10-episode prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Linda Henson, and director Louis Leterrier didn’t have finished footage to unveil to the Comic Con audience during the Netflix and Chills event Friday night, but they did bring behind the scenes footage of the construction and filming of the ambitious project.
Leterrier came to Henson originally as a fan. The Henson family had tried for years to return to the world of The Dark Crystal to no avail until now.
“The canvas was so massive,” Leterrier said. “It was [Jim Henson’s] greatest achievement.”
Linda Henson described the sequence in the 1982 film where Jen and Kira stop at the Wall of Destiny and learn of a lost Gelfling culture. “We took that as our jumping off point for the whole series. What was that culture? What was lost? What was that beautiful Gelfling civilization?”
Henson went on to cite Avatar: The Last Airbender and Game of Thrones as writing inspirations because of their rich and complex storytelling.
Leterrier discussed the technology going into this project. “I love CGI, but we’re not using CGI on this one,” he said to loud cheers and applause. He did add that, unlike the original film, they would use some green screen effects though when absolutely necessary to remove glimpses of the puppeteers. “We have every puppeteer in England,” Linda Henson added.
They promise a series that will serve fans of the original and new fans. “The look is exactly the same,” Leterrier said. This was evident when watching the Behind the Scenes footage they revealed, which showed the exquisite detail of the puppets that truly look precisely like the style of the original film. Every detail, from the inanimate objects to Aughra’s unforgettable lab appear rendered with such a tactile quality the footage literally gave me goosebumps as I felt like I was re-experiencing my childhood.
Netflix has no official release date for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
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