Whatever happened to.... the Sequel to The Dark Crystal?!?

Jack T Chance

Sr Member
This is something that's bugging me right now....

over the last few years, there's been a lot of talk about the planned sequel to the Jim Henson classic The Dark Crystal. Designs were shown for at least one new character, some very rough plot details were revealed, the actual title might have been announced, and all involved led us to believe it would be hitting theaters soon...ish.

Flash-forward to the present day, and the only new things we've seen from the Dark Crystal universe are a handful of graphic novels over the last 5 years... Legends of the Dark Crystal Volumes 1 & 2, which is a manga-style prequel by Barbara Kesel, and in January of 2012, The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Volume 1 by Brian Froud (the fantasy artist that designed the original film) was just released in a lovely hardcover volume. :cool:thumbsup

And while that's all well and good.... WHERE is the new movie?!? :confused

I don't want this to become another project like the infamous Elfquest animated movie that Wendy & Richard Pini have had "in the works" for the last 25-30 years, which STILL hasn't actually materialized!

EDIT: Did a bit of Google Fu, and found some more info. The sequel was first announced in 2005, the planned title of the movie is Power of the Dark Crystal, Cinefantastique magazine had a cover article on the sequel way back in 2006, and as of September 18, 2011, Cheryl Henson (daughter of the late Jim Henson) announced that the project is once again on hold. UGH! :facepalm

In the meantime, here's a link to the Power of the Dark Crystal Blog, which includes the concept images from Brian Froud, along with various news items about the various stages of Development Hell the project had been through as of May of 2010 (the last time it was updated.)

CLICK HERE.
 
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I read something about six months ago that said it was back in limbo again, all production ceased. Haven't heard anything since then.
 
I could see it go either way. Disney might not go for it and might be focused more on getting the Muppets up and running. And The Dark Crystal, while a Henson project, is decidedly NOT a Muppet project -- even less so than, say, Labyrinth. It's, well, DARK. The last time Disney did something that dark was, what, The Black Cauldron? And that didn't go over quite so well.
 
The last time Disney did something that dark was, what, The Black Cauldron? And that didn't go over quite so well.

Dark doesn't always equal bad, nor does making something dark always make it good. I've seen the Black Cauldron and I very confident that it sports one of the worst leads I've had to endure in an animated film.

And one of my favorite animated films is the Secret of Nimh, a film so dark that it had me wallowing under a pillow during the lab experiment flashbacks. Gawddang you Jerry Goldsmith for your genius work.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Genndy Tartakovsky, the man who I believed was involved in the pre-production stages before leaving to do other projects. The first thing I remembered when the sequel was announced was seeing his name attached. I think the biggest disappointment in all of this was his departure from the project. I've watched his work all the way back when Cartoon Network had a fantastic line up of cartoons and his work was wonderful. Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory and the original Star Wars Clone Wars.
 
I HATE Tartakovsky's cartoons. Their visual style is, for me, like fingernails on a chalkboard.

And I'm not saying "dark" is bad. But I'll bet Disney would.
 
I met Brian Froud in November last year when I took a sculpting class he taught. He discussed during the class that he has tried to help get the sequel going many times but couldn't get anywhere with it. He's really sad about it too. Such a shame.
 
I met Brian Froud in November last year when I took a sculpting class he taught. He discussed during the class that he has tried to help get the sequel going many times but couldn't get anywhere with it. He's really sad about it too. Such a shame.
I've got his book from the first film. Amazing talent.
 
Loves me some Froud. After Tartakovsky it went to the Spierigs IIRC, but I have no idea what happened there. General frustration for all parties, seems like.
 
Sad but I would really be surprised if this ever gets made, Jim, Frank, and so many others are either gone or have moved on
 
Agree. From what I can tell, DC seems like a property which is mainly beloved by 30-something ladies as the single biggest demographic. Not saying that demographic deserves no attention, but I doubt it is one which is widely esteemed by Hollywood marketing type dudes?
 
Sure it is not mainstream, but hey, AVATAR did extremely well. It has quite a lot of things in common with DC. So who knows... maybe a new DC will do very well too.
 
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