Dark Crystal Prequel Images Released!

Dark Crystal fans have been waiting for decades for any type of addition to the series. We heard rumors of a movie in the works awhile ago. It reached pre-production stage with concept art images showing what it would look like, but it fizzled into nothingness. There have been a couple books and an ongoing comic series, but then Netflix announced it would be spear heading a new prequel project. The lid has remained tight, but we finally get pictures of what’s coming!

Nerdist released the following photos from Birth.movies.death:

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Then Later today, Entertainment Weekly released another batch of photos that will be featured in their next issue. Here are the EW pics:

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This new Netflix series is to be a prequel to the 1982 classic. While it remains unclear if we will see the actual split of the crystal and the transformation of the Skeksis and Mystics, we will see the beginnings of the war that leads to the near extinction of the Gelflings.

Pictures Tell a Story

These pictures promise an epic story and adventure. The puppetry to Dark Crystal does a solid job holding up even in today’s world, but add in modern day puppetry technology to what Jim Henson accomplished back in the early 80s, and pure magic may be forthcoming.

Not only do these new pictures show what the new puppets will look like, but hints to story details. We see not only Skeksis, but the armor they wore as well them carrying swords they only used in the ceremonial Trial By Sword. Kira did not know what reading was, but here we see gelflings buried in books.

A curious question that also remains unanswered right now is how many Skeksis will there be? In the original, we saw when a Skeksis or Mystic dies their counterpart also dies. According to the Muppet Wiki, the Urskeks numbered 18 when they split into the Mystics and Skeksis. Will we see 18 and watch their numbers whittle down to the 10 that started the ’82 movie? Or will we see a middle number somewhere?

Reading Up on Dark Crystal

For those who can’t wait for the fall release of the Netflix series and want more background on the world and what is happening, author J.M. Lee wrote two books about the Gelflings discovering the evil the Skeksis are using to poison the world of Thra. Shadows of the Dark Crystal and Song of the Dark Crystal launch the series that will precede the Netflix series. Book #3 Tides of the Dark Crystal releases June 25 and book #4 Flames of the Dark Crystal release August 27th. Of course, August 27th is three days before the scheduled Netflix release of August 30th – read fast!

Voice Cast Behind the New Dark Crystal Series