Rebel Moon

Rebel Moon (also known as Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire) is an upcoming American epic space opera film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten, based on a story Snyder also created. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Fra Fee, Ed Skrein, and Anthony Hopkins.
Rebel Moon is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 15, 2023, before its streaming debut on December 22, 2023, by Netflix. A sequel, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, is set to be released on April 19, 2024.
Premise
In a universe controlled by the corrupt government of the Mother World, the moon of Veldt is threatened by the forces of the Imperium, the army of the Mother World controlled by Regent Balisarius. Kora, a former member of the Imperium who seeks redemption for her past in the leadership of the oppressive government, tasks herself to recruit warriors from across the galaxy to make a stand against the Mother World's forces before they return to the planet.
Cast
Additionally, Stuart Martin, Corey Stoll, Cary Elwes, Alfonso Herrera, Rhian Rees, and Ray Porter, who acted out and recorded the film’s script for Snyder to listen to while preparing the day’s shoot, have been cast in undisclosed roles.
Production
Development
Rebel Moon is inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa, the Star Wars films and Heavy Metal magazines. The film's logo is a homage to the adult science fiction and fantasy anthology. The film also began development as a Star Wars film that Snyder had pitched to Lucasfilm Ltd., shortly after the sale of Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company in 2012. This pitch was to be a more mature take on the Star Wars universe. Snyder also pitched the idea as both a video game and a movie to Warner Bros. Pictures "a couple of times". Following the Lucasfilm acquisition, the project was redeveloped by producer Eric Newman and Snyder, first as an original television series, before settling on a film by Netflix.
Casting
On November 2, 2021, it was announced that Sofia Boutella had been cast in the film, in the lead role. On February 9, 2022, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Jena Malone, Staz Nair and Doona Bae joined the cast. Later that month, Stuart Martin and Rupert Friend joined the project. On April 8, 2022, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Michiel Huisman and Alfonso Herrera joined the cast. On May 16, 2022, it was announced that Ed Skrein had replaced Friend as the film's main antagonist due to scheduling conflicts, with Cleopatra Coleman, Fra Fee and Rhian Rees joining the project. On June 8, 2022, it was announced that Anthony Hopkins had joined the cast as the voice of Jimmy, an impossibly sentient JC1435 mechanized battle robot and one-time defender of the slain king.
Filming
Filming commenced as of April 19, 2022, with Snyder sharing the first images from the set on Twitter that day. Snyder also served as cinematographer. It ran until December 2, with 152 days of filming taking place in California, to tap into $83 million in qualified spending and tax incentives.
Post-production
In August 22, 2023, Zack Snyder appeared at gamescom opening night to present the teaser trailer of the two parts. The teaser trailer, which was also released online, revealed that the first and second parts of Rebel Moon would be subtitled Part One: A Child of Fire and Part Two: The Scargiver, respectively.
Music
In January 2023, Tom Holkenborg was revealed to be composing the score. Holkenborg has previously contributed to the score for the Snyder-directed [[Man of Steel (film)|Man of Steel]] (2013) and scored Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and Army of the Dead (2021), and the Snyder-produced 300: Rise of an Empire (2014).
Release
Rebel Moon is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 15, 2023, before its streaming debut on December 22, 2023, by Netflix. Snyder revealed that the film will have an R-rated extended cut, in addition to its original PG-13-rated cut.
Future
Speaking about the film's future as a franchise, Snyder said: "My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out." On February 9, 2022, it was revealed that Rebel Moon would be a two-part film, with both parts originally planned to be shot back-to-back.
On August 22, 2022, the follow-up was confirmed and in August 2023 revealed to be titled Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver, with a release date of April 19, 2024. In April 2023, it was revealed that the first part was planned to be the beginning of a trilogy.
Other media
In March 2023, Snyder revealed that a role-playing video game based on Rebel Moon was in development, alongside an animated short and a graphic novel. A novelization of the film written by V. Castro will be published by Titan Books on December 26, 2023. In July 2023, Snyder revealed that he had plans for a TV series focusing on Balisarius.
In August 2023, Snyder announced at Gamescom that Super Evil Megacorp was developing a four-player co-op action game that would be exclusively available on the Netflix Games platform. In September 2023, Evil Genius Games sued Netflix for terminating a deal allowing them to produce a tabletop role-playing game set in the Rebel Moon universe.
A four-issue prequel comic titled Rebel Moon: House of the Bloodaxe'' by writer Magdalene Visaggio and artist Clark Bint will be published by Titan Comics in January 2024. Set five years before the events of the film, the comic depicts backstory for the characters of Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe, leaders of a band of outlaw revolutionaries.
References
External links
2023 science fiction films
2023 films
Upcoming Netflix original films
2020s English-language films
American science fantasy films
American science fiction action films
American science fiction adventure films
American space opera films
English-language Netflix original films
Films directed by Zack Snyder
Films produced by Zack Snyder
Films with screenplays by Kurt Johnstad
Films with screenplays by Shay Hatten
Films with screenplays by Zack Snyder
Films scored by Junkie XL
Films set on fictional planets
Films shot in California
The Stone Quarry films
Upcoming films