Characters and races of The Dark Crystal

The characters from the 1982 cult fantasy film The Dark Crystal series were created by puppeteer Jim Henson and concept artist Brian Froud. Most of the information about specific characters and species names that were not mentioned in the film come from supplementary materials such as Froud's book The World of the Dark Crystal. The series expanded into books, comics, artwork, games, and the 2019 prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

Overview

A dark grey cell indicates that the character did not appear or that the character's presence has yet to be announced.
A indicates a role as a younger version of character portrayed by another actor.
A indicates an uncredited role.
A indicates a cameo role.
A indicates a voice-only role.
An indicates an appearance through archival footage or stills.
An indicates the actor was part of the main cast for the season.

Major characters

Gelfling

The Gelfling are the central protagonists of The Dark Crystal franchise. They are slender, elvish humanoids with protracted facial structures who originally populated most of Thra, having three long fingers and a thumb on each hand. Female Gelfling have fairy-like wings that can be folded to fit easily under their clothing, allowing them to safely glide down from high places, even with the added weight of a second Gelfling holding onto them. The Marvel Comics adaptation of the film states that in the past, females could fly, but the wings have become vestigial. Gelfling also possess an ability called "dreamfasting" that allows them to psychically share thoughts, memories, and emotions through touch. The name "Gelfling" is a transliteration of Ghel-lflainnk, which means "those who live without knowledge of the future". This is due to their innocence and naïvety.
The Gelfling once had a flourishing civilization with a writing system similar to hieroglyphics, having relied on Aughra during the Age of Innocence before the urSkeks' arrival, which hastened their development while they venerated the aliens for their advancement. Initially, the Gelfling coexisted with the Skeksis before learning of their malevolent actions in using the Dark Crystal to drain the surrounding lands of their life essence to prolong their lives while using the extracted essence of their enslaved kinsmen for rejuvenation purposes.
This started the events of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, which reveals that the Gelfling were organized as seven matriarchal clans who made their homes in areas of Thra consisting of the Stonewood Clan, the Spriton Clan, the Vapra Clan, the Grottan Clan, the Drenchen Clan, the Sifa Clan, and the Dousan Clan. Each of the Gelfling Clans is led by a leader called a "Maudra" and the ruler of all the clans is named "All-Maudra". Eventually, the Gelfling learned that one among them was destined to find the Shard and restore the Crystal to its natural state alongside the urSkeks during an upcoming Great Conjunction. When the Skeksis learned of this, they attempted using fabrications to deter the Gelfling before resorting to genocide with the newly created Garthim. By time of the events of the first film, only [|Jen] and [|Kira] had survived one such massacre as the former seeks to fulfill the prophecy. At the end of the first film, the two are entrusted with the Crystal by the urSkeks.
In the original film, it required four puppeteers to operate the Gelfling. In The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, the Gelfling puppets require only two puppeteers thus permitting greater freedom of movement. Also, while the animatronic components of the original film's Gelfling puppets were controlled via cables, the mechanical parts of the new Gelfling were remotely operated via a modified Wii controller.

Jen

Jen is a young male Gelfling and the protagonist of the film, having been raised by the urRu Master urSu from infancy when his family was slaughtered by the Garthim. His upbringing by the lax urRu made him both deliberate and impatient. Jen wears a pale, cream-colored tunic. His skin has a brown complexion and his hair is dark with fair streaks, and grows to shoulder-length. He carries a flute around his neck, which he is shown playing at intervals, and an urRu token known as a firca.
His creature and costume design were provided by Brian Froud and his designer and fabrication supervisor was Wendy Midener.

Kira

Having escaped the slaughter of her people when hidden by her mother in a hollow tree trunk, Kira ended up wandering into a Podling village and was adopted by them. Taught by the Podlings, Kira learned to converse with wild animals and is given to wandering the swamps outside the Podling village, accompanied by Fizzgig. She is soft-spoken and gentle as a rule. Kira wears a golden-brown dress and a brown cloak. She has a fair complexion; her hair is long and fair, almost white; and she is always barefoot. As a female Gelfling, Kira has segmented fairy or butterfly-like wings that she can fold down her back: a physical feature not shared by male Gelflings. Although not shown in flight, she is twice seen using these wings to slow a fall.
Kira was designed by Wendy Froud and her design and fabrication supervisor was also Wendy Midener.

Vapra Clan

The Vapra Clan are a Gelfling clan that reside in the city of Ha'rar within the snowy high mountains and appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, having ruled the other Gelfling tribes for ages. They are experts on camouflage. Among the known members are:

Brea - Princess of the Vapra Clan, Maudra Mayrin's youngest daughter, and one of the main protagonists of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
All-Maudra Mayrin - Queen of the Vapra Clan and mother of Brea, Seladon, and Tavra. When Mayrin confronts the Skeksis about their lies, she is killed by skekVar.
Seladon - First-born daughter of Maudra Mayrin, she succeeds her mother as All-Maudra of the Gelfling. Seladon denied any Skeksis wrongdoing, until she learned the truth herself.
Tavra - Born Katavra, she is a Vapra Paladin who is Maudra Mayrin's second-born daughter. After stabbing skekVar, Tavra is fatally stabbed by skekSil and dies in the presence of her sisters.
Librarian - Overseer of the Vapra Citadel library.
Mira - Crystal guard who was in a relationship with Rian until she was killed for her essence by Skek-Tek.
Daudran - Overseer of the Order of Lesser Services.
Stonewood Clan

The Stonewood clan are a Gelfling clan that reside in the village of Stone-in-the-Wood within the Dark Wood and appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. They are strong and proud and most of them are employed as Crystal Guards at the Castle of the Crystal. The Stonewood Clan are also expert cobblers and farmers. Originally they were called the Woodland Clan or Woodland Folk. Among the known members are:

Rian - A member of the Stonewood Clan and one of the main protagonists of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance who was part of the Crystal guard until he witnessed his girlfriend Mira's murder by the Skeksis' hands so they could drain her essence in order to cheat death. This leads to him ultimately uniting the Gelfling people against the Skeksis.
Maudra Fara/The Rock Singer - The leader of the Stonewood Clan at the beginning of Age of Resistance. At first, she was reluctant to hear Rian's claim of what the Skeksis are planning until word of mouth reached Stone-in-the-Wood. After Mayrin was killed by skekVar, Fara and Laesid would not accept Seladon as the All-Maudra as Fara challenged her for the title in a trial by air. In a Skeksis-inspired outfit, Seladon defeated Fara who left with Laesid while the other Maudras bowed to Seladon. She dies during her people's first battle with the Skeksis where she threw herself in front of skekOk's blade to protect Seladon.
Ordon - A member of the Stonewood Clan, captain of the Crystal Guard, and Rian's father. The Skeksis later sent Ordon to retrieve Rian. When he learns the truth, he helps Rian even when skekMal attacks. Ordin sacrifices himself in an attempt to save his son from skekMal by knocking him into the Gobbles.
Grottan Clan

The Grottan Clan, named after the Caves of Grot, are a secretive Gelfling clan that reside in the Cave of Obscurity, their tribe long thought to be extinct due to their isolation from most of Thra. The Grottan Clan have large ears and big eyes to help them move around in the dark, but are sensitive to sunlight causing them to wear special blindfolds to filter the light. They appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Among the known members are:

Deet - One of the main protagonists of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Born Deethra, she is the animal carer of the Grottan Clan who learned of the Darkening from Vliste-Staba and helped in the rebellion's formation.
Maudra Argot the Shadow Bender - The leader of the Grottan Clan. After sending Deet on her quest, Argot was the only Maudra that didn't accept Seladon's invitation to her coronation.
Mitjan - The father of Deet, partner of Lath'N, and member of the Grottan Clan.
Lath'N - The father of Deet, partner of Mitjan, and member of the Grottan Clan.
Bobb'N - The brother of Deet and member of the Grottan Clan.
Drenchen Clan

The Drenchen Clan are an amphibious Gelfling Clan that live in the Swamps of Sog. They appear in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance where their town of Great Smerth is named after the enormous tree that is in the center. The Drenchen Clan have gills that enable them to survive underwater and the females use their wings like fish fins to swim. They are also powerful in combat and take pride in it. The Skeksis could not keep track of the Drenchen Clan's location in their consensus. Among the known members are:

Maudra Laesid - The leader of the Drenchen Clan and the mother of Gurjin and Naia. Following Mayrin's death, she and Fara would not accept Seladon as the All-Maudra.
Gurjin - A Crystal guard who is Rian's best friend.
Naia - The daughter of Laesid and Gurjin's twin sister who is next in line to become Maudra. She and Kylan were originally hunting Rian until he persuaded them to hear him out and dreamfast with him. Naia later frees Gurjin from his imprisonment.