How exactly does something as monumental as Netflix's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance come together? Well you could spend months and years following the production team with high-end cameras, gathering hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, and then edit it all down until you have the best of the best distilled into a deep dive into all things Thra. Or you could watch the new nearly 90-minute documentary, The Crystal Calls: Making of 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.'

Filmmaker Randall Lobb, known for nostalgia-focused fare like documentaries on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, brings this new look behind the scenes of the Netflix prequel series to viewers around the world. We were lucky enough to get to chat with him about all things The Dark Crystal and how his documentary team found themselves with unfettered access to the amazing pro-puppet project. The fruits of their labor are streaming now, but for aspiring documentary filmmakers and other creatives out there, hearing how Lobb's productions come together is a worthwhile lesson in perseverance and following your fandom flag, wherever it may take you.

If you’d like to watch The Dark Crystal, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and/or The Crystal Calls: Making ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’, be sure to click the relevant links.

And for more on all things Dark Crystal, check out our own write-ups below:

• ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ Documentary Review: A Can’t-Miss Look Behind the Scenes
• ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ Ending Explained & What Season 2 Could Explore
• ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ Review: Jim Henson’s Legacy Thrives on Thra
• ‘The Dark Crystal’ Recap: Everything You Need to Remember Before Netflix’s New Series
• ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’ Creators on How the Show Began as a ‘Labyrinth 2’ Pitch

Did the He-Man documentary lead to this behind-the-scenes project for The Dark Crystal, or if not, how did the opportunity come about?

Randall Lobb: Do you have a mole on the inside? I would speculate that the He-Man documentary does a pretty good job of representing Definitive Film’s approach to pop culture, so when I started bugging people at Netflix about transposing those ideas to another IP, they were curious enough to listen because, of course, they love pop culture, too. Netflix is filled with people who love pop culture just like us. They’re making decisions based on passion, curatorship, creativity and instinct (not just data), so I think they recognized those attributes in our work. I think that’s what allowed them--and The Henson Company--to invite us in and give us access to what turned out to be a mind-boggling production.

What is your normal approach in developing a documentary and how did that change for The Crystal Calls?

Lobb: One of the most difficult aspects of making the documentaries we do is gaining access - to anything, really. On the He-Man doc, I was lucky enough to start up a friendship with Adam F. Goldberg, who made it possible for us to shoot with Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella. On The Crystal Calls, we were finally able to show what would happen if you were able to get on the inside - if you were welcomed. It made an enormous difference. Director Louis Leterrier wasn’t trying to keep us away, he invited Isaac Elliott-Fisher to stand beside him and shoot anything. From Lisa Henson and Cindy Holland to the model makers, painters and puppeteers, everybody made it easy for us to shoot the best material possible, sat down for us and made us welcome. You can’t imagine how much better the film is because of that cooperation and care.

How difficult was it to wrangle all of the footage and interview material that you and your team gathered? Were there any particularly tough editing choices made in the process?

Lobb: It’s always difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, but what do you do when it’s ALL wheat? On Turtle Power, we had over 200 hours of footage and archival material. On He-Man and Conan we had six-hour rough-cuts to get down to a feature length, but that’s my job - to watch that pre-select cut and go with whatever feels right. On The Crystal Calls, we have untold hours of amazing, stunning footage from the most jaw-dropping soundstages, all loaded with art and craftsmanship, but you just have to find those critical moments and stick with them.

What was most memorable about it for you?

Lobb: Honestly, it’s the people. It is difficult to imagine a friendlier, kinder, more welcoming set. You just wanted to be there with those people, working together to make this amazing series. Yes, everything we saw was handcrafted, beautiful and impressive, the talent on display stunning and the logistics beyond understanding, but the people were just awesome. Simon Pegg, Jason Isaac and Natalie Dormer allowed us into recording sessions and gave us incredible interviews. Taron Egerton sat for our interview in his lunch break from a day of Rocketman press. And I could go on all day like this.

What was it about the production design, costuming, or puppets themselves that impressed you the most?

Lobb: Everything looks amazing, layered and detailed and is obviously handmade but, more than that, everything is meaningful. Artist Brian Froud, with whom Jim Henson collaborated on the original film, describes the difficulty with which he works to ensure that every single line of his work has weight, meaning and depth. That intensity of consideration, design and planning had to go into every single frame of the series and continued through production, post and beyond. The sheer number of calculated, careful and creative decisions that went into the simplest moments on screen would blow your mind. It was overwhelming.

What does it mean to you, personally, to be part of The Dark Crystal legacy?

Lobb: I saw The Dark Crystal when it came out, sitting with my buddies, singing along with the Mystics and freaked out by the Skeksis and wondering how the hell this movie was made. Playing a part in its ongoing legacy is shocking, actually. I’m from a small town in rural Ontario, so there was hardly any difference in my thinking of the fantasy world of Thra or the fantasy world of Hollywood. It was all equally inaccessible, equally unreal. Finding myself on the periphery of those two fantasy worlds, actually stepping into them once in a while, well, it’s more surreal. I loved every minute!

As a director yourself, what most impressed you about Leterrier’s dedication to the production and his collaboration with the cast and crew?

Lobb: He was an executive producer, working on the show way before he was directing, working with Lisa and the writers, building the show he knew would be challenging to say the least. Then, after setting himself this impossible task, he threw himself into the most complicated, intricate sequences, enormous interactions of God knows how many technicians, artists, puppeteers, crew members, technologies, equipment, logistics and more, with a heavy camera strapped on all day. And he stayed cool, charming and funny whilst working his ass off all day making magic. The crew would go home and he would have meetings to plan future days of work with impossible shots and sequences. Then he would stay and edit previous impossible shots and sequences. I don’t know if he slept, how he slept or how he was able to do it. HE is a director. I’m just a guy making documentaries with my friends.

What are the chances we get to see The Crystal Calls on home video? And can we expect any bonus footage that didn’t make the original cut for the documentary?

Lobb: These questions are above my pay grade. I do love bonus footage and we have so much of it, but I happily put myself in the service of Netflix in this regard…

What can you tease about your upcoming Conan the Barbarian documentary, A Riddle of Steel?

Lobb: Oh, this is a whole story of its own. We’re 80% (or more) shot out on this one and have been for some time, but there are some critical elements left to shoot, some of which are pure "Austrian Oak"… ahem…

We’ve shot an incredible amount of material here once again, illustrators and actors and writers and all kinds of art and imagery to tell the story of this classic franchise. And hey, we spent a day with John Milius, which was wild. In spite of all that, however, we really can’t get this movie out until we get one particular interview and we would really love to tie our documentary to a new series or film. You’d think that would be happening somewhere, right?

What’s up next for you? And where can we find The Crystal Calls on Netflix?

Lobb: We came out with the series on August 30th, so you should binge all ten episodes of the show, watch the documentary to see how it was done, then go back and watch the series all over again with new appreciation.

I’m never allowed to talk about what’s coming next, as you can imagine, but we’re in development on a few very exciting properties, deep in post-production on a couple other docs and we’re actively crossing fingers for Conan.

You can find Lobb's documentary work 'The Crystal Calls' and 'Power of Grayskull' on Netflix now.