‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ First Look: Netflix Series Unveils Cast
Steve Greene
Netflix is returning to the world of “The Dark Crystal,” and it’s bringing a veritable army of big-name performers with it. The streaming service unveiled its gigantic cast for “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” a series set before the events of the beloved 1982 Jim Henson film “The Dark Crystal.” It paints a world of the Gelflings, a thriving society only hinted at in the film, set after their civilization’s destruction.
For this new story, “Age of Resistance” has set up three main Gelfling heroes to follow through the adventures. They will be voiced by “Kingsman” and impending Elton John biopic star Taron Egerton, “The Witch” breakout Anya Taylor-Joy, and “Game of Thrones” alum Nathalie Emmanuel.
The Gelfling world is populated by villainous Skeksis and benevolent Mystics — the show has assembled an impressive roster to play both sides of the conflict. Mark Hamill, Andy Samberg, Keegan-Michael Key, Simon Pegg, Jason Isaacs, Ralph Ineson, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and Harvey Fierstein round out the collection.
The rest of the massive Gelfling ensemble includes a number of actors and actresses who have appeared in Netflix projects before, including Gugu Mbatha-Raw (the “San Junipero” episode of “Black Mirror”) and Helena Bonham-Carter (the upcoming season of “The Crown”). The laundry list of other voices include Alicia Vikander, Caitriona Balfe, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Harris Dickinson, Shazad Latif, and Theo James.
Series creator Lisa Henson and director Louis Leterrier are leading the charge on this new series, which will feature puppetry similar to that on display in Henson’s original film. “Kids these days haven’t seen puppets that look like this. It brings in everything you love about ‘Dark Crystal,’” Letterier said at a New York Comic Con panel in October.
See additional first-look photos from the series below:
