An epic science-fantasy event decades in the making, Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon will be heading to Netflix… and it will be shown in two parts. One released in December, and the second the following April.
Here’s what you need to know…
First up! Check out the epic teaser trailer…
What’s the background?
It’s taken Zack Snyder 20 years to make Rebel Moon and has been inspired by ‘putting-together-team-movies’ like The Dirty Dozen and The Magnificent Seven.
“I’ve always loved this idea of these underdog teams going against impossible odds,” Snyder said recently to Netflix. “Even in college, when they would ask us what kind of a movie we were going to make when we got out of school, I said, “I’m going to make a space team-building underdog movie.”
It was almost a Star Wars movie…
We last saw Snyder take on the zombie genre by directing Army of the Dead, which was closely followed by Army Of Thieves (with Snyder producing) and there will be another sequel planned with Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas.
It was after the positive experience of the Army series that Snyder wanted to have his next movie be with Netflix, though that was after the possibility of it being part of a classic sci-fi series set in a galaxy far, far away…
“It saw light briefly as a [potential] Star Wars movie and then after Army of the Dead, it just felt like, during the pandemic, it really gestated into a real movie,” Snyder reveals. “While Army of the Dead was probably still in post, I was pitching it to Netflix as a follow-up, what I wanted to do next.”
So what’s it about?
In Rebel Moon a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force.
Kora (played by Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge.
As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.
Yes, there will eventually be a director’s cut
“The director’s cut is close to an hour of extra content, so I think it’s a legitimate extended universe version,” says Snyder. “You really get to see a lot. It’s just more painted-in all the way. The director’s [cut] is a settle-in deep dive, which I have notoriously done throughout my career.
“I don’t know how I got into this director’s cut thing, but what I will say about it is that, for me, the director’s cuts have always been something I had to fight for in the past and nobody wanted it. It was this bastard child that I was always trying to put together because they felt like there was a deeper version. And with Netflix, we shot scenes just for the director’s cut.
“So in that way, it’s really a revelation because it gives that second kick at the can for big fans, like a real discovery that they would not [otherwise] get. I’m really excited about it!”
C’mon then, let’s see the cast and crew
Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Man of Steel, Army of the Dead) and written by Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad (300), and Shay Hatten (Army Of The Dead), the movie stars Sofia Boutella (The Mummy), Djimon Hounsou (Shazam! Fury Of The Gods), Ed Skrein (Alita: Battle Angel), Michiel Huisman (Game Of Thrones), Doona Bae (Sense8), Ray Fisher (Justice League), with Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy) and Anthony Hopkins as the voice of ‘Jimmy’.
The movie also stars Staz Nair (Supergirl), Fra Fee (Hawkeye), Cleopatra Coleman (Cobweb), Stuart Martin (Army Of Thieves), Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson (The Northman), Alfonso Herrera (Sense8), Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), Rhian Rees (Halloween), E. Duffy, Jena Malone (Antebellum), Sky Yang (Halo), Charlotte Maggi (MaveriX), and Corey Stoll (Ant-Man).
Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon two-part movie event begins this December on Netflix. Part One: A Child of Fire will be released on 22 December 2023 and Part Two: The Scargiver will be released on 19 April 2024.
