The first time I reported on a sequel to Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal was in May of 2005. The first image from the film featuring Queen Kira (view here) arrived in February of 2006. Then, one year later, in February of 2007, amidst rumors the film had been abandoned, an official announcement was made saying Power of the Dark Crystal “has not been ‘cancelled’ or ‘put on hiatus’ or any of the other rumored status changes” at which time storyboards for the film were released, which you can browse here.
Now, over three years later, things continue to move as an official press release was sent out announcing Daybreakers directors, Peter and Michael Spierig, have come aboard to direct the screenplay written by Australian Craig Pearce (Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet) based on an original script by Annette Duffy and David Odell.
The announcement was made by Omnilab Media’s Christopher Mapp and The Jim Henson Company’s Lisa Henson as Omnilab has teamed with the Henson Co. to bring Power of the Dark Crystal to the big screen in stereoscopic 3D. Fantasy artist Brian Froud (who designed the image of Queen Kira mentioned above) will reprise his role as conceptual designer of the film, which will use a mix of live action and traditional puppetry combined with visual and special effects produced entirely in Australia.
Perhaps the brand new concept art I just received from Henson Co. for Power of the Dark Crystal (seen above) will help jog your memory of the original film, which featured a power struggle between the evil Skeksis and the gentle Mystics as Jen, the last of the Gelfings, sets out to find the missing shard of the Dark Crystal in an effort to restore order to the land of Thra.
The synopsis for Power of the Dark Crystal has not changed over the years as it still reads as follows:
Set hundreds of years after the events of the first movie when the world has once again fallen into darkness, Power of the Dark Crystal follows the adventures of a mysterious girl made of fire who, together with a Gelfling outcast, steals a shard of the legendary Crystal in an attempt to reignite the dying sun that exists at the center of the planet.
The Spiereg brothers come aboard as directors following the long attachment of Genndy Tartakovsky. While I thought Daybreakers was pretty good, the decision to bring aboard Peter and Michael is a bit of a surprise as I would have thought Henson would have sought a more seasoned duo working with puppetry and invested in the Henson interests, though who would’ve thought “Flight of the Conchords” co-creator James Bobin would have been the first choice to direct the new, Jason Segel led upcoming Muppet movie? If it looks right and the instincts say “go for it” you can’t ask for much more.
