Netflix is bringing the world of Jim Henson‘s The Dark Crystal back to life for an upcoming prequel series and now fans have an opportunity to be a part of the dark fantasy world through a design contest.
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As reported by CNET, fans would need to draw an original design for a small, woodland creature that isn’t a variation of an existing Dark Crystal species, including front and side views of the creature and a 50 to 100-word blurb explaining giving the creature’s name, backstory, characteristics and submit it online. The designs will be judged by Brian Froud, the conceptual designer for the original Dark Crystal film and other experts selected by The Jim Henson Company.
For those who are unfamiliar, The Dark Crystal is a 1982 dark children’s fantasy film. Widely considered to be a masterpiece, particularly for its use of puppetry, the movie features only animatronic characters and tells the story of the dying world Thra and its inhabitants. In the story, the titular Dark Crystal cracked thousands of years ago creating two races, the terrifying Skeksis — who used what power the Dark Crystal had left to keep themselves alive — and a kind, gentle group of wizards called the Mystics. With the brutal Skeksis poised to become immortal, Jen and Kira — the last of the Gelfling race that once lived in peace in Thra before being massacred by the Skeksis — must take the final shard of the crystal on a journey to repair the crystal before the fateful celestial event that would doom their world.
The Netflix series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, is set many years before the movie opening the opportunity to expand the movie’s world with different creatures who may have existed early in the Skeksis reign while also potentially giving fans some familiar characters, such as Agura, the astronomer who guarded the all-important crystal shard in the film.
The winning creature design will be awarded $500 and, according to the contest, “their concept design will be crafted and built by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to make a possible cameo appearance in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.” But fans wanting to come up with something cuddly, like the fur ball Fizzgig, or even completely terrifying like a Skeksis will have to hurry. The contest closes November 22nd.
