Netflix has released the full-length (and final) trailer for its upcoming prequel series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Thirty-seven years after Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s The Dark Crystal opened in theaters, the cult fantasy property is getting a new lease on life thanks to Age of Resistance. Directed by Louis Leterrier (Clash of the Titans, Now You See Me) and co-created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (with assistance from co-executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach), the Netflix series takes place long before the events of the original movie (and, in turn, the Skeksis’ attempt to prevent a prophecy involving a Gelfling hero from coming true).
Marketing for Age of Resistance has been ongoing for months now, with the previously-released screenshots and teaser having provided a glimpse of the show’s gorgeous visuals and epic scope. The series will also continue to use puppetry to bring its characters to life (a la Henson and Oz’s film), as Netflix’s promotional campaign has been keen to emphasize. That remains the case with the show’s newly-released official (and final) trailer.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance trailer is now online, and just a couple weeks before the show begins streaming on Netflix. You can check it out in the space below.
In addition to further highlighting the prequel’s sweeping feel and fantasy spectacle (which continues to look really impressive in the marketing material), the latest Age of Resistance trailer includes some important world-building for the overall series. As established here, the show will follow three Gelflings - Bria (Anya Taylor-Joy), Rian (Taron Egerton), and Deet (Nathalie Emmanuel) - as they discover the Skeksis are responsible for causing an environmentally destructive event (referred to as The Darkening) with their use of the Crystal of Truth: a source of untold power at the heart of Thra (the prequel’s fantastical setting). The idea of greedy, power-hungry beings corrupting the environment in order to serve their own selfish desires is a natural extension of The Dark Crystal’s themes and may come off feeling all the more relevant when Age of Resistance premieres this month.
With its messages about the importance of rebellion in the face of malevolent forces, Age of Resistance has the makings of a worthwhile continuation of The Dark Crystal, as far as its storytelling is concerned. Thra and its inhabitants have never looked so richly detailed and alive either, no doubt thanks to The Dark Crystal prequel series having much-improved filmmaking technology and higher production values to draw from than Henson and Oz did almost forty years ago. That doesn’t guarantee the show will have more crossover appeal than The Dark Crystal movie before it, but for longtime fans of the franchise, it seems the prequel may yet manage to live up to their high expectations.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance streams on Netflix beginning Friday, August 30.
Source: Netflix
