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The Dark Crystal prequel promises fizzgigs and surprises Mark Hamill with award at SDCC
The cast and creators of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance gave today's attendees of San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H a taste of what to expect from Netflix’s highly anticipated fantasy series. And as an added treat, series co-star Mark Hamill was given a surprise award at the panel.
Prior to screening the premiere episode of the new Dark Crystal prequel series (which we suspect won't disappoint fans of Jim Henson's original 1982 film), panelists Lisa Henson (producer), Louis Leterrier (director), Taron Egerton (Rian), and Hamill (SkekTek) assured the crowd that the streaming service and production team have stuck to their promise of providing puppetry over CGI.
"It's The Dark Crystal, the most important puppet movie of all time," said Leterrier. "We could not go to CG."
Leterrier noted that Netflix was behind using puppets all the way. He added that the sets for the show were all 4 feet above the floor, with pathways underneath for the puppeteers. It was announced earlier today at a press conference that a new behind-the-scenes documentary showing all the practical effects and painstaking work put into the show will also be released, and you can get a good sense of that in the new featurette that Netflix dropped today:
And yes: Leterrier promised that the new series would also have Fizzgigs.
Henson, CEO of the Jim Henson Co. (and Jim's daughter), let folks know just how thrilled she was that this show is finally becoming a reality.
"This is the thing I'm most proud of since my siblings and I started running the company," Henson said. "This is my third Comic-Con talking about a Dark Crystal project, so to come into Hall H and say it's real is incredible."
Hamill said he remembered taking his kids to see the original and loved how dark it was. He added that the late Gary Kurtz (Star Wars), who produced the film, read the script for the new series before he passed away and gave it his seal of approval.
Also at the panel, Hamill received the surprise 2019 ComicCon Icon Award. Upon receiving the award, which garnered a standing ovation, Hamill said: "If it wasn't for you (the fans) I wouldn't be here," before of course singing the Chucky song to the crowd. (He just couldn't resist.)
In this new prequel series, the world of Thra is in peril after the Skeksis corrupt the Crystal of Truth, spreading a sickness throughout the world. When three Gelflings discover the secret behind the Skeksis' power, they must embark upon an epic quest to ignite the fires of rebellion and save their world.
The staggeringly impressive cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Nathalie Emmanuel, Helena Bonham-Carter, Keegan-Michael Key, Andy Samberg, and Simon Pegg, among many others.
The 10-episode series hits Netflix on Aug. 30.
Click here for SYFY WIRE's full coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2019, including up-to-the-minute news, exclusive interviews, and videos.
