Power Of The Dark Crystal gets directors

Just over a month ago, artists Brian and Wendy Froud confirmed that Dark Crystal sequel The Power Of The Dark Crystal was still alive and kicking.

Despite having been in production for most of the noughties, this new decade brings fresh optimism for the project.

Not only have The Jim Henson Company finally recruited directors for the sequel – in the form of Peter and Michael Spierig – but they’re planning on jumping on the 3D bandwagon as well.

The original flick was helmed by Jim Henson and was released in 1982. An immersive fantasy, it followed lone Gelflings Jen and Kira as they attempted to bring peace back to their warring world.

This new sequel, which is set a hundred years after the events of the first film, will be shot in Australia and will unite Omnilab Media and The Jim Henson Company, who plan on using stereoscopic 3D to bring the tale to life.

The Spierigs, who most recently directed the far more adult Daybreakers , will direct the existing script by Craig Pearce, from an original script by Annette Duffy and David Odell.

“We feel a tremendous amount of responsibility in telling this story with the same meticulous care that Jim Henson and Frank Oz gave the 1982 original,” says Michael.

Adds Peter, “This is a chance to take the world of puppetry into the modern age by using modern techniques (like motion capture CGI) and the tried and true methods (like puppetry and animatronics) to create a one hundred percent real world that is unique to The Dark Crystal .”

The Power Of The Dark Crystal will focus on a girl made of fire who steals a shard of the Crystal - with the help of a Gelfling outcast - in order to save her home at the center of the planet.

Ready to finally see a Dark Crystal sequel?

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.