Scene from “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” —PHOTO BY NETFLIX
How does it feel to become part of a fantasy world that was a part of your childhood? For Taron Egerton (“Rocketman”) and Natalie Dormer (“Game of Thrones”), who voice Rian and Onica, respectively, in “The Dark Crystal” prequel “Age of Resistance,” it’s like the realization of a dream—or a nightmare coming to life.
“When my father first showed the 1982 original to me, I was young enough to be a bit freaked out by it,” Taron recalled. “But I’ve always had that slightly strange relationship with things that are a bit scary. I find it enticing and invigorating.
“The original Jim Henson film—like all of Henson’s work, but especially ‘The Dark Crystal’ and ‘Labyrinth’—was a huge part of my childhood. I found them enchanting, the right side of dark for my sensibilities.”
Natalie Dormer
And Natalie?
“I was born the year ‘The Dark Crystal’ was released—I’m an ’82 baby. But I remember it vividly. I loved it. It’s such a vivid, all-encompassing world, and the Skeksis are bloody scary! ‘The Dark Crystal,’ ‘Labyrinth’—they were very much part of the culture at the time.”
But there’s more to get excited about in “Age of Resistance,” says Natalie.
“Just the flora and fauna of Thra alone… I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that what’s been created with Thra is on a level with when we think about other worlds that we’ve seen onscreen like Middle Earth, Pandora, Westeros or Narnia. Thra is right up there with the top five fantasy worlds that an audience feels it knows. To be a part of that now is a great honor and privilege.”
It’s a new world, indeed. But will fans of “The Dark Crystal” appreciate the new look and expanded mythology in “Age of Resistance” (which begins streaming on Netflix today)?
Taron Egerton
“I have some experience with die-hard comic-book fans through ‘Kingsman,’” Taron says. “Those people make the movie world go round, and it’s lucky that they’re generally such nice people. I hope that the fans of the original film take the series to their hearts in the same way.
“The people who have made this series, in this case Netflix and The Jim Henson Company, could have made six episodes. And it would have felt wrong. What fans of ‘The Dark Crystal’ want is an odyssey. They want a saga. They want something to enrich the universe of the original film—and that’s exactly what this series does.
“You could put [‘The Dark Crystal’ and ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’] side by side. It’s the same world, but there’s just so much more of it to explore—and that’s what I want as a fan. I want to be able to switch off for a whole day and exist in this universe.” —RITO P. ASILO