Nearly 37 years after the release of Jim Henson's oddball fantasy The Dark Crystal, fans will return to Thra on Friday with Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Met with a muted reception in 1982, in large part because the film was so much darker than The Muppets, The Dark Crystal has since developed a cult-like following that has held out hope for an eventual sequel or, in this case, a prequel.

However, even if you're not among those '80s kids who bear the emotional scars from thinking you were going to see Kermit the Frog and were instead confronted by the enormous, vulture-like Skeksis, you'll still be able to follow Age of Resistance. The 10-episode series is, after all, a prequel, set "many years" before the events of the film.

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So, no, there's no need to watch The Dark Crystal -- whether for the first time, or the 21st -- before settling in to enjoy Netflix's Age of Resistance. The series serves as a good introduction to the fantasy world imagined by Henson, Frank Oz, David Odell, Brian Froud and others. In fact, the serial nature may make it easier to comprehend all of the inhabitants of Thra -- the seven clans of Gelfling, the Skeksis, the Podlings, Aughra and so on -- and how they relate to each other.

That said, knowledge of The Dark Crystal certainly informs the events of Age of Resistance, imbuing them with an undeniable sense of melancholy.

Although The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance features a sprawling cast of characters (as the credits below can attest), the story centers primarily on three Gelfling from different clans (Rian, a crystal castle guard of the Stonewood Clan; Brea, a princess of the Vapra Clan; and gentle Deet of the Grottan Clan) as they uncover the horrifying secret of the Skeksis, the ruling aristocracy of Thra, and set out to ignite the fires of rebellion in hopes of saving their world.

Arriving Friday on Netflix, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is directed by Louis Leterrier, and features the voice talents of Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nathalie Emmanuel , Caitriona Balfe, Helena Bonham Carter, Harris Dickinson, Natalie Dormer, Eddie Izzard, Theo James, Toby Jones, Shazad Latif, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong, Alicia Vikander, Harvey Fierstein, Mark Hamill, Ralph Ineson, Jason Isaacs, Keegan-Michael Key, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg and Donna Kimball.

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