Word has come in a joint announcement from Omnilab Media and The Jim Henson Company (I caught it at ComingSoon) that the sequel to the 1982 fantasy epic, The Dark Crystal, titled Power of the Dark Crystal, is moving forward and that Peter and Michael Spierig (Undead, Daybreakers) are on board to direct in 3D. Omnilab’s production entitiy, Ambience Entertainment will be co-producing with Henson and execs for both companies, Christopher Mapp, Matthew Street, David Whealy and Brian Henson, Lisa Henson and Jason Lust, respectively, will be exec producers, along with Cinemarket Films’ Peter D. Graves. Craig Pearce (Moulin Rouge!, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet) has scripted.
Michael Spierig said, “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.” Added Peter Spierig, “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.”
Power of the Dark Crystal is set hundreds of years after the original and concerns a mysterious girl made of fire who steals a shard from the legendary crystal with a Gelfling outcast in an attempt to restart the dying star at the planet core.