Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal is a huge celebration of imagination and puppetry. Though not an overwhelming success, the film has found a cult following in the years following its release. Not one to let something like that fall by the wayside, Netflix will be reviving the beloved title with The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
The series will serve as a follow-up to The Dark Crystal and include a rather very impressive voice cast that features the talents of Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Anya Taylor-Joy (Split) and Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) in the lead roles, with voices like Mark Hamill (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Simon Pegg (Ready Player One), Natalie Dormer (Game Of Thrones), and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (A Wrinkle In Time). Other notable names also include Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), Eddie Izzard (Ocean’s Thirteen), and Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier).
Here’s the plot synopsis for the upcoming series:
Based on The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson’s groundbreaking 1982 feature film, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance tells a new epic story, set many years before the events of the movie, and realized using classic puppetry with cutting-edge visual effects. The world of Thra is dying. The Crystal of Truth is at the heart of Thra, a source of untold power. But it is damaged, corrupted by the evil Skeksis, and a sickness spreads across the land. When three Gelfling uncover the horrific truth behind the power of the Skeksis, an adventure unfolds as the fires of rebellion are lit and an epic battle for the planet begins.
Additionally, Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company said, “It is humbling to see so many truly gifted actors join The Dark Crystal universe by adding their voices to Age of Resistance. As with the original film, we are now adding a voice cast of the highest caliber that will provide textures and range to the puppetry performances that are the heart of the series. It is thrilling to see this assembled team of artists, puppeteers and now voice actors, many inspired by my father’s original film, work together to realize this unique world – through performance and craft – at a scale that is rarely seen today.”
The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance will focus on the Gelfing, and the discovery of the malevolent and powerful Skeksis, who are using a mystic crystal to spread sickness across the land. Here’s the complete voice cast for the Gelfing: Taron Egerton (Kingsman), Anya Taylor Joy (The Witch), Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones), Caitriona Balfe (Outlander), Helena Bonham-Carter (The King’s Speech), Harris Dickinson (forthcoming Maleficent 2), Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), Eddie Izzard (Ocean’s Thirteen), Theo James (The Divergent Series), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The Cloverfield Paradox), Mark Strong (Kingsman), and Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider)
The Skeksis & Mystics are voiced by: Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song), Mark Hamill (Knightfall, Star Wars), Ralph Ineson (Game of Thrones), Jason Isaacs (The OA) Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (True Detective), Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible), and Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine).
And finally, Aughra will be voiced by Donna Kimball (The Happytime Murders).
No release date has been set yet, but expect to see The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance to open sometime in 2019.
