To the sadness of those keeping the “SnyderVerse” candle burning, the man himself has put the DC universe firmly behind him. Netflix has embraced Zack Snyder with open arms, and we’re busy getting hyped for his two-part sci-fi epic Rebel Moon, which looks like Star Wars on steroids. There’s already talk of a third Rebel Moon movie, a video game tie-in, and other multimedia projects, so let’s lay out the entire project in one place.
When does Rebel Moon release?
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire will land on Netflix just in time for Christmas, on December 22, 2023. Rebel Moon – Part Two – The Scargiver will land on April 19, 2024. Each of the two parts will have an R-rated cut at some point, though as yet there’s no confirmation on how long we’ll be waiting for them.
If you can’t wait that long, Netflix will also be showing Part One in theaters for a one-week limited run. Screenings will take place during the week of December 15, 2023. Expect the same for Part Two, which if it follows that pattern will debut in theaters on April 12, 2024.
The Rebel Moon cast
Zack Snyder has an impeccable reputation for working with actors and can usually attract a top stable of talent to his movies. Rebel Moon is no exception, and the film will feature Sofia Boutella in the lead role, Djimon Hounsou as “General Titus”, Charlie Hunnam as a mercenary, Ray Fisher as the warrior Darrian Bloodaxe, and Jena Malone as a spider-warrior. Ed Skrein looks to be nailing it in a villainous role as Admiral Atticus Noble, with Fra Fee as the tyrannical villainous leader.
The obvious highlight has to be Oscar-winning movie icon Anthony Hopkins, who will be playing Jimmy, “an impossibly sentient JC1435 mechanized battle robot and one-time defender of the slain king”. It’s the role he was born to play!
What’s Rebel Moon about?
Indications are that this is going to be Zack Snyder’s sci-fi take on Akira Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai. The action will be centered on the moon Veldt, which is under threat from the fascistic Imperium. Kora, our heroine, must gather the fiercest warriors and mercenaries from across the galaxy to fight back against their forces and defend her world.
Other than that, exact details are thin on the ground. We can presume that this rough story arc will play out over A Child of Fire and The Scargiver, though there are already rumblings of a third movie so this new sci-fi universe isn’t done yet.
You also don’t have to look too far to spot some obvious Star Wars influences. Rebel Moon began life in 2012 as Snyder’s pitch to Lucasfilm for a standalone Star Wars movie, promising a more mature adventure. Neither Disney nor Lucasfilm was interested and, though the concept has evolved significantly since then, there are still strong echoes of a galaxy far, far away.
The multimedia project
Rebel Moon won’t just be a movie. Snyder has said he sees it as the birth of an ongoing IP and a universe in which others can tell their own stories. There is a Rebel Moon tabletop game in development (which is not without its own controversies), an animated short, a graphic novel, and a four-player co-op video game that’s going to be exclusive to Netflix. The game will be set after the events of the movies and function as an epilogue, which may mean it won’t arrive until after Part 2 in April 2024.
Beyond those the movie will also have a novelization (landing on December 26, 2023) and Snyder has teased the idea of a television series expanding on Fra Fee’s character’s story, though as far as we can tell this isn’t yet been officially greenlit by Netflix.
Will it be any good?
By now audiences should know whether they like Snyder’s bombastic, slow-motion-fueled, and muscular style or not. Netflix appears to have let him go wild with Rebel Moon, with the trailer showcasing his love of bizarre scenery, grim and muscular warriors, and violent action.
There has also been a private press screening that showed ten minutes of the movie that hasn’t been seen by the public. Those in attendance described what they saw as “anime come to life”, comparing it to Attack on Titan and One Punch Man. The action scenes apparently ooze “balletic, slow-motion elegance and fight-or-flight levels of adrenaline.“
Yup, sounds like a Zack Snyder movie alright. Let’s hope he sticks the landing when December rolls around.