The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Returns to Thra in New Featurette

In less than two weeks, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will debut on Netflix and now, a brand new featurette is taking fans back to Thra ahead of that debut, offering a closer look at the prequel to Jim Henson’s beloved 1982 film The Dark Crystal and the lush, expansive world of the Gelfling.

Age of Resistance is set long before the events of The Dark Crystal and, as is touched upon in the featurette above, takes viewers to a time that is the peak of not just the Gelfling’s civilization, but of the Skeksis’ power as well. It’s a time when the evil creatures are still seen as benevolent leaders, but three Gelfling discover, Thra is dying. The Crystal of Truth that is the heart of Thra has been corrupted by the Skeksis, spreading a darkness across the world. It’s thus up to the young Gelfling Rian, Brea, and Deet to attempt to save their world.

As fans of the original film know, things don’t work out particularly well for the Gelfling. The Dark Crystal follows the last remains of the Gelfling race — Jen and Kira — as they attempt to repair the Crystal in order to prevent the Skeksis from becoming immortal and ruling Thra forever. The key there is that Jen and Kira are among the last of the Gelfling and knowing, essentially, how it all ends was a challenging situation going into Age of Resistance, but one that Jim Henson Company CEO Lisa Henson ultimately thinks won’t be an issue for fans.

“What’s gonna happen to us, you know centuries from now? We don’t know,” Henson said at San Diego Comic-Con last month. “We just kind of have to live our daily lives and win the daily battle. We think this is a really hopeful and inspiring story about heroes who, when faced with a really scary and mysterious threat — which is what the Skeksis are doing to them and threatening their very life essence — you know, they manage to pull together and fight as a team. You kind of don’t expect gelfling — if you know the original film — you don’t expect gelfling to have that kind of gumption. You don’t even know that they have a fight in them, but they do. And we learn that they do in the series.”

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance has a stellar voice cast. The Gelfling are voiced by 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 (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), Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), and Hannah John-Kamen (Game of Thrones). The Skeksis & Mystics are voiced by: Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy), 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), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine Nine), Benedict Wong (Avengers: Endgame), and Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians). Sigourney Weaver voices The Narrator. Aughra is voiced by Donna Kimball.

You can check out the official description for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance below.

“Based on The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson’s groundbreaking 1982 feature film, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance tells a new 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.”

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance hits Netflix on Friday, August 30th.