If there was one project above all that could neatly sum up the ongoing frustrations towards Netflix’s rampant cancellation of widely popular fantasy shows, few capture the sentiment better than The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
The episodic legacy sequel to the beloved 1982 movie is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 88 percent score, while it also holds an even better audience approval rating of 94 percent. In addition, the whimsical adventure won a Primetime Emmy for Best Children’s Program, and spent a decent amount of time hovering around the top end of the most-watched charts.
We haven’t even gotten around to mentioning the insanely stacked cast yet, either, which featured Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Simon Pegg, Mark Hamill, Awkwafina, Eddie Izzard, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Sigourney Weaver, and even more big names besides.
And yet, 13 months after premiering in September of 2019, Netflix announced that Age of Resistance would be a one-and-done favorite. It’s been almost three years since that fateful day, but in a recent interview with io9, director Louis Leterrier refused to abandon all hope.
“I won’t tell you, because I still have hope that it can come back. I mean, who would have thought that 37 years later that we would’ve been able to bring it back? So, I have high hopes. You know, it might not be me. It might be my grandson or, you know, Jim Henson’s great-grandson, but somebody will direct the rest of this show because we need to tell that story. And beyond. I mean, Thra is a place we want to go to.”
Even if we ignore that Netflix has now axed no less than 26 fantasy originals since the beginning of 2020 as the company continues to ignore the outpouring of fury that greets almost every single one of them, we’re inclined to believe that Leterrier’s optimism might be a touch misplaced.