More than three decades after The Dark Crystal hit theaters, the long-awaited sequel is finally happening, but it won't be hitting the big screen. The Jim Henson Company announced today that they are teaming up with comic book company Boom! Studios to release a 12-issue comic book series entitled Power of the Dark Crystal. The comic book will debut on February 15, 2017, which will kick off plans for a celebration of the original movie's 35th Anniversary.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the comic book series will be adapted by Si Spurrier from an unproduced screenplay by David Odell, Annette Odell and Craig Pearce, with Kelly and Nichole Matthews providing the artwork. Eisner Award-winning artist Jae Lee designed the cover artwork for the first issue, which you can see below, with colors by June Chung. Here's what The Jim Henson Company CEO Lisa Henson had to say about this new Boom! Studios comic book in a statement.

"The creativity that went into writing and designing the feature film was such that we wanted our fans to be able to see and enjoy it now through this comic book series. We are very proud of the story that the screenwriters David Odell, Annette Odell, and Craig Pearce wrote. Our partners at Archaia and BOOM! Studios are the only people we could trust to expand and illustrate the story, and we are thrilled that it will soon see the light of day!"

The Jim Henson Company first announced this Dark Crystal sequel back in 2005, with the story set decades after the events of the original movie. The original heroes Jen and Kira from the first movie are now king and queen, and must fight to save their kingdom when the crystal is once again split. Both Jen and Kira are said to be "distracted" from ruling the planet of Thra. This leads to a Fireling named Thurma who has plans to steal a part of the Dark Crystal, which will bring back power to her realm, but also may restore the evil Skeksis along the way.

Genndy Tartakovsky was attached to direct Power of the Dark Crystal in 2006, with Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig (Daybreakers, Predestination) coming aboard to direct in 2010. The film never made it into production, but now this story will get to live on in this Boom! Studios comic. Take a look at the cover art for Power of the Dark Crystal below.