Power of the Dark Crystal

This article is about an upcoming project, product, or production.

Concept art of Queen Kira.

Concept art of Queen Kira and King Jen.

Concept art of Thurma.

Power of the Dark Crystal is a proposed sequel to the 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal. The Jim Henson Company has teamed with Omnilab Media to produce the film, intended for a theatrical release in stereoscopic 3D. Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig are currently attached to direct the project, which will be based on a screenplay by Craig Pearce.

Set hundreds of years after the events of the first movie when the world has once again fallen into darkness, "Power of the Dark Crystal" follows the adventures of a mysterious girl made of fire who, together with a Gelfling outcast, steals a shard of the legendary Crystal in an attempt to reignite the dying sun that exists at the center of the planet.

Early development and setbacks

The film project was first announced in Variety in May 2005 when the Jim Henson Company bought a script by David Odell and Annette Duffy.

In January 2006, the Henson Company announced that Orphange Animation Studio would be providing CG animation elements and named Orphanage's Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack) as director for the film.

Brian Froud, the designer of the original film, worked with the Henson Company on concept art for the new film. Tartakovsky and Froud appeared with Lisa Henson and Michael Polis to talk about the film at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2006. Froud's concept art for Queen Kira was featured on the cover of Cinefantastique. More concept art was revealed in October 2006, accompanying an article on MTV.com.

The MTV.com article provided a plot summary:

“The Power script continues the tale of elfin heroes Jen and Kira, last seen returning the shard to the evil crystal and seemingly abolishing the vulture-like Skeksis from their land. Set many years after the first flick, Power casts Jen and Kira as king and queen, now overseeing a kingdom whose peace is disturbed by a visit from the underground-dwelling U-mun people. After the Gelflings refuse their request for a shard of crystal that could preserve the U-mun race, a desperate visitor takes it anyway, threatening their world with another thousand years of chaos.”

Lisa Henson announced at Comic-Con 2007 that the production had hit a "setback":

“Fans of The Dark Crystal did detect that we were moving a little slowly, and it’s kind of true - we had a little setback but are back on track. The movie will not be coming out until 2009 so we’re not going to be showing anything for a while... ”

During this time Henson worked to adjust the film's script. At one point Cory Edwards was asked to work on a rewrite of the script for the sequel. While a deal never came together for Edwards, he says that the offer led to conversations with the studio that resulted in him being picked as writer/director for the Fraggle Rock movie.

Nicole Goldman, the Henson Company's VP of Marketing and Publicity, responded to fans' inquires as to the status of the project on the Jim Henson Company Podcast in January 2008, stating:

“[The film] is deep in development here, and we are as committed to it as ever. We are still planning our original vision of a film, which is a theatrical release... We are anticipating a beautiful blend of puppetry and animatronics with CG animation backgrounds as we've said all along... We're all very excited to see the film come together, and we'll be sure to update the fans to the progress as we have those updates confirmed. So stay tuned for more information on Power of the Dark Crystal! ”

Partnership with Omnilab Media

On February 4, 2009, The Muppet Newsflash reported that development on the project was still underway, with Craig Pearce (Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!) having completed a rewrite of the screenplay, with the Australian company Omnilab Media set to co-produce. It was later confirmed by a May 2010 press release that Omnilab Media and The Jim Henson Company were teaming up to bring the film to the big screen and that Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig (writers and directors of "Undead" and "Daybreakers") would be directing the project, off of the screenplay written by Pearce which was based on the original script by Duffy and Odell. The 2010 announcement also reaffirmed Froud's involvement as conceptual designer on the project.

The film is planned to be produced and released in stereoscopic 3D. Power of the Dark Crystal is still said to use a mix of live-action and traditional puppetry combined with visual and special effects. Digital effects will be produced by produced by Omnilab Media's Australia-based production arm, Ambience Entertainment. Omnilab-affiliated Iloura ("Where the Wild Things Are," "The Pacific," "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark") has already begun work on the film's complex CGI elements.

The Jim Henson Company's executive producers include Brian Henson, Lisa Henson and Jason Lust. Omnilab Media's executive producers are said to be Christopher Mapp, Matthew Street and David Whealy. Cinemarket Films' Peter D. Graves rounds out the executive producer team.

In the May 2010 press release, Lisa Henson commented on the Company's partnership with Omilab Media and the Spierg brothers:

“Power of the Dark Crystal is an exciting and ambitious undertaking and, having worked on previous projects with the top-notch talent and crews that Australia offers, we know we have assembled the right team to deliver the sequel to one of the most enduringly popular titles in the Henson library. Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig are sure to create a film that will continue the legacy of the original and exceed the expectations of our loyal fans. We are especially enthusiastic to be working with Omnilab Media, a strong and growing force in worldwide film finance and production. ”