SDCC 2019 Panel Recap: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

It has been several decades since fans of The Dark Crystal were able to visit Thra, but that will change soon enough thanks to Netflix. The streaming service worked with the Jim Henson Company to revive The Dark Crystal for a prequel series, and ComicBook.com was at the Hall H panel for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance to talk all things Gelflings.

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The panel begins with a reel hyping u fans of the series. When the stage is lit up, fans are met with moderator from TV Guide. The group is super excited with plenty cheering for the project. The special guests are Targon Egerton, Lisa Henson, and Louis Leterrier. Oh, and Mark Hamill is here too.

Hamill says his entry into this franchise is exciting because it was so dark and gritty. Egerton was a fan as a child who loved watching it as a child. Continuing, Hamill said his close ones felt the script writing for Age of Resistance was really great, and he cannot wait to see it.

When asked what he connected with, Egerton said it was unlike anything he ever saw before. It was frightening, edgy, and a bit freaky. He was a little bit on the edge of his seat.

Taron opens up about his character who is a Gelfling called Rian. He lives in a community with Gelflings who work for the Skeksis who know little about the group. But when he sees a fellow Gelfling get their essence taken away from the Skeksis, he goes on a mission to make his community aware of their true selves.

Hamill said ever since he started playing a certain crazed clown that he’s been cast as villains. He said his agent was upset he was not cast as Alfred because he is in every episode. In this new series, he will play The Scientist, and Hamill said he’s been a Muppet fanatic ever since seeing them on The Ed Sullivan Show. Hamill said he also grew closer working with Jim years ago during a stint on The Muppets, and he grew to love Jim’s humor there. Hamill said he was the luckiest man in the world to do what he loved for work. He says it is great to revisit those things he loved as a kid, and Hamill makes a solid Star Wars reference that keeps the crowd going.

Lisa was on set of The Dark Crystal and did work at as a P.A. Everything was being made in shop, so everything was brand-new on the set from research and development. She went on to say a lot of the original stuff from The Dark Crystal was in storage, so this prequel got started by pulling archivals out and basing designs from there.

A little fact: The Scientist’s eye was made from a TIE fighter with Darth Vader. Now, Hamill is voicing that character, and the puppet has that same construction!

Speaking of production, Leterrier said Netflix pushed to make the whole prequel with puppets. However, that makes every shot of the project the most challenging of his career. The puppeteers are the ones who bring things to life so well. Hamill goes on to say how his puppeteer Ollie Taylor was amazing and wondered why Netflix even cast him jokingly.

As for performing a puppet role, Egerton said the voice cast is the top layer of talent while a deep one multi-layered platform backs them. He was inspired by the work he saw completely finish in order to record.

When it comes to why the show was okayed now, Lisa said all of her siblings wanted to keep this story alive from her father as it was his most rewarding and challenging project. She said there was trepidation, but it was also very ambitious. Ultimately, no one was afraid to do it. They tried to make films previously, but it finally happened with a little magic from Netflix. “It has come out so much better than I dreamed,” Lisa said.

When asked about meeting Hamill, Egerton said he was awestruck. He did not get to meet the actor on Kingsman, but Hamill is “Luke f–king Skywalker” and a hero.

When asked if original characters and creatures from The Dark Crystal will show up in this prequel, Leterrier says yes but that is about all. A second fan asks if Hamill can give a performance on how he will sound as The Scientist, but Hamill hedges. Then, he gives it out to the fans with a tease following permission from Lisa.

A fans asked if it was difficult from Hamill to decide to join the project, but the star says no; It was such a different project to tackle then, and he wants to explore it further and scare the heck out of fans.

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So, will you be checking out this prequel series? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!