photos from premiere screening of Jim Henson’s “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”

photos from premiere screening of Jim Henson’s “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”

The enchanting world of Thra came alive at Netflix’s New York premiere screening of Jim Henson’s “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” on Tuesday, August 27 at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI). The evening kicked off with a star-studded purple carpet where voice-over cast members, Keegan-Michael Key, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jason Isaacs, Hannah-John Kamen and Donna Kimball, along with Lisa Henson (Executive Producer and CEO & President of The Jim Henson Company), Louis Leterrier (Executive Producer and Director), co-executive producers and writers, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, and Ted Biaselli (Director, Original Series at Netflix) were in attendance.

See below for photos.

The event continued with a pre-screening reception where attendees were given a special advance sneak-peek of the spectacular puppets (featured in the series), from the Jim Henson exhibit at the MOMI entitled “Creatures from the Land of Thra: Character Design for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” which officially opens on September 11 and continues through February 23. The exhibit will explore the design process behind the series’ fantastical characters, featuring puppets, maquettes, design material and behind-the-scenes images from the new Netflix series that offers a prequel to the 1982 film co-directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz.

The reception was followed by a screening of the first episode of the highly anticipated series, with opening remarks by Ted Biaselli (Director, Original Series at Netflix) and Leterrier (Executive Producer and Director). The evening concluded with a panel discussion between Henson, Leterrier, Grillo-Marxuach, Addiss and Matthews, moderated by Isaacs, who kept the audience laughing throughout the conversation.

During the panel, Isaacs and the panelists spoke about how viewers can make connections and see themselves in the puppets in a purer way than they can with human actors, with Isaacs adding, “People felt more about Dobby dying in Harry Potter than they ever did about any human beings in the film.” 

Later in the panel, Henson spoke about the nostalgia she felt while working on the series. Her father, the late, Jim Henson, had said that The Dark Crystal was his biggest, hardest task and his greatest achievement — the one he is most proud of. Lisa noted, “When we all walked on the set of the Crystal Chamber, which was a perfect replica of the original set, we all got very emotional.”

At the end of the conversation, Isaacs praised Leterrier for the countless hours of work he put into the project, with Leterrier responding, “It’s a gift that was given to me by Lisa and by everybody at Netflix. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Launch date: Friday, August 30, 2019

Director: Louis Leterrier

Executive Producers: Lisa Henson, Louis Leterrier, Halle Stanford

Co-Executive Producers: Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Blanca Lista

Producer: Ritamarie Peruggi

Line Producer: Tim Wellspring

Associate Producer: Cameron Richardson

Co-Producer: Vivian Lee

Produced By: The Jim Henson Company

Format: 10 Episodes x 1 Hour

Based on “The Dark Crystal,” Jim Henson’s groundbreaking 1982 feature film, “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” tells a new 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.