Netflix's 'Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance' Fans Are All Asking The Same Question
It's safe to say that most people love the Muppets. Jim Henson's zany characters have a huge fanbase, whether or not it's childhood memories of Sesame Street, Muppet movies on DVD, or YouTube shorts. But Henson's biggest cult hit was the 1982 film The Dark Crystal. Netflix's Labor Day weekend release of the television series prequel, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, is already making waves as a gorgeous 21st-century revival of Henson's vision. With rave reviews from critics and fans, it's natural to ask, will there be a Dark Crystal Season 2? So far, Netflix has not said one way or the other.
When The Jim Henson Company originally pitched a series to Netflix featuring the world of The Dark Crystal, it wasn't thinking of puppets. Deeply aware of how much it cost to make the original film back in the 1980s, Lisa Henson (Jim's daughter) pitched an animated CGI series. Speaking at the Dark Crystal press conference at San Diego Comic-Con in July of 2019, she admitted she didn't believe Netflix would agree to spend the money it would take to create a TV series with practical puppets.
But Netflix shocked everyone by turning down an animated idea, instead opting to go big and go foam. The result is a stunning achievement, one that Muppet fans are gaga over.
Netflix was willing to spend what it took to create 10 episodes of Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. But it's not clear the streaming service did so with the plan to do more. As fans of Netflix have learned, the more the streaming service does "Original Series," the more it has begun acting like a traditional TV broadcaster. Shows like One Day At A Time or The OA may have passionate fanbases, but if the eyeballs aren't there, the shows get canceled.
More importantly, Netflix doesn't race to greenlight stuff the way it used to. Stranger Things, for instance, is one of the biggest series the streamer has. And yet, it took six weeks for Netflix to announce there would be a Season 3. As for a Season 4, that's still up in the air two months after the show hit what Netflix itself called "record numbers" over the July 4 holiday.
With that reality facing The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, it's not clear if there will be a Season 2. The show's final episode ended on something of a cliffhanger. The Gelfling rebellion has been far more successful than anyone could have imagined. But the Skeksis are ready to strike back. The Scientist has taken his evil work to new levels, and had just invented a new kind of soldier, called "The Garthim." As fans of the original movie will remember, these terrifying buglike chittering monsters were a significant factor in the fall of the Gelflings.
It could be a turning point in the war. But whether or not fans will get to see the Skeksis crush the resistance in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Season 2 remains to be seen.
