Genndy Tartakovsky is like the King of All Geek Cred. The guy created the very well received by nerds Samurai Jack cartoon, and his Clone Wars shorts have been widely praised as the Star Wars prequels we were all hoping to see.
If his Geek Cred was high yesterday, it soared this morning when it was announced that he’s directing the sequel to The Dark Crystal, the Jim Henson puppet fantasy movie from the 80s. Set hundreds of years after the original, Power of the Dark Crystal is about an attempt by a Gelfling and a girl made of fire who try to reignite the sun at the heart of their world. Like, whoa, man.
Sayeth Genndy: "The original ‘Dark Crystal’ was one of the most inspirational and imaginative pictures of its time, so it’s a real honor for me to be able to bring the world of ‘The Dark Crystal’ to a whole new generation."
Brian Froud, who designed the original characters, is coming back to design the new folks, who will be brought to life with a mixture of puppetry and CGI. The world of The Dark Crystal is getting way busy as well, with a cartoon series and a manga series in the works as well. Skesis branded acid tabs are on their way to your local schoolyard..
Good for the fans of the original. As for me, I rented the movie on DVD recently and found it be almost wholly unwatchable, a mix of high camp puppets and deadly dull fantasy nonsense. It should be noted that I was stone sober on this viewing, a state that may not be most compatible with The Dark Crystal.