Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance: Netflix Series Gets Trailer, Poster

Get ready for a return to the world of Thra.

The first teaser trailer for Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, the Netflix prequel series based on the 1982 dark fantasy classic from Jim Henson and Frank Oz, was posted to Netflix's YouTube channel today. Along with the teaser came a gorgeous new poster, which you can check out below.

Although its dark tone took many audiences by surprise — familiar as they were with Henson's primary gig as the creator of the Muppets — The Dark Crystal has become a cult classic in the years since its release. Its story (told with astonishingly detailed and lifelike puppets) involves the quest of a young Gelfling whose destiny it is to restore a missing shard to the titular Crystal, which had cracked a thousand years prior. When it did, it gave rise to two distinctly opposite races: the benevolent Mystics, and the sinister Skeksis. Her successful completion of the quest reunites the two races into one (the "urSkeks"), and restores balance to the world of Thra.

The new series will utilize a combination of digital and practical effects — complete with puppets provided by the Jim Henson Company — to flesh out its world, and while the new trailer is short on plot and characterization, it looks absolutely fantastic. The puppets are just as lovingly detailed as in the original film, and digital landscapes are used to give the production a truly epic scale. There are some crazy looking new creatures, some nail-bitingly perilous situations (all presented with very, very quick cuts) — and, yes, Skeksis, the very distinctive vocalizations of which can be heard over the title card.

The spot may not fill in many story details for us, but fortunately, we have the official synopsis (via Collider): "Based on The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson's groundbreaking 1982 feature film, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance tells a new epic story, set many years before the events of the movie, and realized using classic puppetry with cutting edge visual effects. The world of Thra is dying. The Crystal of Truth is at the heart of Thra, a source of untold power. But it is damaged, corrupted by the evil Skeksis, and a sickness spreads across the land. When three Gelfling uncover the horrific truth behind the power of the Skeksis, an adventure unfolds as the fires of rebellion are lit and an epic battle for the planet begins."

One other thing we know about the series: its cast is huge, not to mention hugely talented. Starring as the heroic Gelfling trio are Taron Egerton (Rocketman), Anya Taylor-Joy (Glass), and Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones). Other Gelfling characters will be voiced by (pardon us while we take a deep breath): Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Fast Color), Mark Strong (Shazam!), Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery), Theo James (Castlevania), Eddie Izzard (The Lego Batman Movie), Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), Harris Dickinson (The Darkest Minds), Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), Caitriona Balfe (Outlander), and Helena Bonham-Carter (Ocean's Eight). 

But wait, there's more! Appearing as various Skeksis and Mystics are: Simon Pegg (Star Trek Beyond), Ralph Ineson (Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Harvey Fierstein (Bojack Horseman), Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator), and Mark Hamill (you know... Mark Hamill).

The series will feature ten hour-long episodes, all of which will be helmed by Louis Letterier (The Incredible Hulk). Its writing staff features the likes of Kari Drake (Limitless), Margaret Dunlap (Avengers Assemble), and Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost).

Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is set to debut August 30 on Netflix. In the meantime, check out that amazing poster below.