Dark Crystal Sequel Directors Speak

Horror directors the Spierig Brothers reveal why they’ve taken on the Henson sequel

“We had been talking to Henson for quite a while and went in talking about different projects,” says Peter Spierig. “They showed us some concept material for Dark Crystal and we absolutely flipped for it. It's been such a big part of our childhood. They basically asked us if we were interested and we were like, are you kidding? It’s going to be our lives for a few years, maybe longer.”

A few years? Don’t expect to see The Power Of The Dark Crystal any time soon then.

Michael Spierig goes on to explain why the film isn’t such a drastic departure for them, really. No, bear with him: “We wouldn’t attach ourselves to the material if it didn’t connect to our sensibilities,” he says. “To be honest, the first film is, when I was young, pretty scary stuff. This will certainly have scary elements to it. It’s not a horror film by any means, it’s just got a really solid mythology and solid idea. There are so many great characters. Great new characters and some of the favorites from the previous film will return. It’s not a remake. It’s a continuing story and we use the world of the first film to go further.”

Still no mention of the director who was previously attached to the project, Genndy Tartakovsky, the genius behind the 2D, traditionally-animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars , or if any of his ideas are still in the mix, but we do know that the conceptual designer for the first movie, Brian Froud is on board. We’ve got to admit, though, the Spierig Brothers are an intriguingly leftfield choice.

Dave Golder
Freelance Writer

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.