Muppet Central News - Henson planning Dark Crystal sequel

The film, which is titled "The Power of the Dark Crystal", has been written by David Odell (The Dark Crystal, The Muppet Show) and Annette Duffy. No director is yet attached to the film which will start shooting this fall and is planned for a 2007 release. The film will combine live-action animatronic characters with CG animation. Like its predecessor, the film hopes to push the boundaries of puppetry, special effects, and visual story-telling.

The story for the film is set many years after the original movie. The first film's original heroes Jen and Kira are now king and queen, and must fight to save their kingdom when the crystal is once again split.

Any further cast and crew announcements have not been made. But it has been cited that The Jim Henson Company wants to involve many of the people who worked on the original movie (such as Brian Froud and Frank Oz). The official word on the cast & crew should be made later this year once production picks up on the project.

The Jim Henson Company had tossed around ideas of a sequel (or prequel) over the years. In the late '90s there was strong support from many Henson executives, led by Brian Henson, to make a prequel to the 1982 film. Sadly the plans never materialized; but now that the company is "Muppet-free" they want to work to bring back many of their existing productions and franchises.

The film has built a strong cult-following since 1982 and mixed with the new surge in "fantasy world" films in the recent years, Henson feels that now is the perfect time to bring back the world of the Dark Crystal.

The company is also working on developing animated series, interactive games and other related media as well.

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