WATCH: Gelflings Rebel in Netflix’s Visually Stunning ‘Dark Crystal’ Trailer

Fans of Jim Henson’s magically creepy 1982 fantasy adventure The Dark Crystal have reason to rejoice as Netflix released a trailer for their upcoming original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. According to a synopsis from Netflix, the series will be a prequel to the events of the film. In the show, three Gelflings discover a terrible secret that inspires them to rebel against the emperor of their home planet Thra.

Check out the beautifully made trailer below:

The trailer opens with soft music and loving shots of everyday life for the creatures of Thra. Despite the gap of over 30 years, the new Netflix series seems to have perfectly captured the tones and mood of the 1982 original. It comes as no surprise that Brian Froud, a designer who worked on both Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal is on board, helping the show bring classic creatures to life in a new way.

The trailer doesn’t give much plot away, but it definitely gives a sense of the fantastic world Netflix’s Dark Crystal inhabits.

What the trailer does reveal is chilling. We see a Gelfling on screen and hear a voice saying, “all Thra is at risk. The darkening corrupts everything it touches.” The Gelfling reaches out to touch a flower and frightening images flash across the screen, including a Skeksi with glowing purple eyes.

Next, we catch a glimpse of Aughra the astronomer who held a shard of the titular crystal in the original movie. Perhaps the series might reveal how Aughra got the shard? We also get some nice shots of her observatory and hear her say, “I see many endings laying before us. Some good, most bad.”

Finally, we see a group of Skeksis surrounding the crystal, seeming to gain power from it.

Jim Henson’s daughter Lisa Henson and Neflix Dark Crystal director Louis Leterrier have been adamant that the visually-stunning series does not include computer-generated effects or graphics. In an interview with Fandom Leterrier said, “It’s puppets, man. It’s all puppets.” The team used green-screen effects to remove puppeteers in post-production. They also revealed that they spent a full year filming the 10-episode series. Each episode will be one hour long.

Leterrier told Fandom that he hopes the series will appeal to new fans as well as folks who grew up on the beloved film. “Kids these days haven’t seen puppets that look like this,” he explained. “This is quite different, and sometimes quite scary. It’s multi-generational. The design and look is exactly the same [as the original], you’re going to like it.”

A big name cast provides voices for the animated characters in Netflix’s Dark Crystal. The Gelflings are voiced by Taron Egerton of Rocketman fame, Anya Taylor-Joy from Glass, and Nathalie Emmanuel who you might recognize from a little show called Game of Thrones. Rounding out the supporting cast, you’ll hear voicework from Helena Bonham-Carter, comedian Eddie Izzard, and Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill. Keegan-Michael Key, Andy Samberg, and Natalie Dormer also made the cast list.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance premieres on Netflix on August 30.

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