Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire

***Rebel Moon — Part 1: A Child of Fire*** is an upcoming film directed by Zack Snyder and written by Snyder, Shay Hatten, and Kurt Johnstad. The film will be produced by Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, and Wesley Coller of The Stone Quarry and Eric Newman of Grand Electric. The film was shot with a 2.40 aspect ratio.

The film ran in four theaters (Paris Theater in New York City, Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, and Prince Charles Cinema in London) for one week before the Netflix release from December 15, 2023. The movie's official release date December 22, 2023, with a PG-13 rating, however, was released five hours before the standard time of 12:00AM PST, resulting in a Devember 21 evening release for many time zones. A direct sequel, *Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver*, was filmed alongside the first and will arrive on Netflix on April 19, 2024. Both films will be released with director's cuts, each with 45-60 minutes of extra footage that was recorded solely for the extended cut. The *A Child of Fire* director's cut is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2024 with an R rating.

## Synopsis

*The story is set in motion when a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. Desperate people dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.*

--Official press release synopsis

## Cast

Sofia Boutella
as
KoraCharlie Hunnam
as
KaiDjimon Hounsou
as
TitusRay Fisher
as
Darrian BloodaxeDoona Bae
as
NemesisJena Malone
as
HarmadaStaz Nair
as
TarakE. Duffy
as
MiliusCharlotte Maggi
as
SamSky Yang
as
ArisEd Skrein
as
Atticus NobleStuart Martin
as
DenCary Elwes
as
The KingCorey Stoll
as
SindriMichiel Huisman
as
GunnarAlfonso Herrera
as
CassiusCleopatra Coleman
as
Devra BloodaxeFra Fee
as
BalisariusRhian Rees
as
The QueenAnthony Hopkins
as
Jimmy
* **Full credits . . . >**

## Production

### Development

News of the project's existence was being reported as early as January 2013. Originally conceived as its own IP during Zack Snyder's days in college, he later pitched it as a movie set in the *Star Wars* universe. The purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney halted talks of production. Deborah Snyder considered this to be the best thing for the movie, noting that they wouldn't want it held back by the limitations of existing IPs. They continued work on the movie, hoping to sell Warner Bros. on the concept, then, after production on *Justice League*, Snyder became unsure if he would want to return to feature films and began considering *Rebel Moon* as a series, instead. They later decided that a movie would be a better place to start, citing how easy it would be to lose track of the scope of a series and the fact that it would be easier to achieve the required budget for a movie. A decade after the *Star Wars* spinoff talks, Snyder pitched the film to Netflix as an original intellectual property, no longer connected to *Star Wars*. He said he hoped the film might launch a broader franchise. On July 6, 2021, *Rebel Moon* was officially announced as a film for Netflix's streaming service. Zack Snyder would direct it himself with his wife, Deborah Snyder, and their production partner, Wesley Coller producing through The Stone Quarry. Eric Newman (who previously worked with Snyder on *Dawn of the Dead*) would also be producing through his studio, Grand Electric, which would bring in Sarah Bowen to executive produce. Snyder and Kurt Johnstad (*300*) developed the story with the first 100 or so pages of the script, while Shay Hatten (*Army of the Dead*) came aboard to help speed up the process of finishing the screenplay, resulting in a 216-page script.

On September 2, 2021, Snyder confirmed he was working on the script for *Rebel Moon*. It was later revealed that the screenplay ended up at 172 pages, which would have been roughly three hours once filmed. When Scott Stuber with Netflix pointed out that movies over two hours don't do as well on the platform, Snyder offered to make two movies instead.

The first film was one of 23 to utilize a California Film Commission tax credit, itself estimated to have received a $18,488,000 credit when it went into production in early 2022. It was slotted for 117 days of filming with $83 million in approved spending. Approved spending typically accounts for about two-thirds of a film's total budget, implying the *A Child of Fire* budget was about $125 million.

According to the October 2021 *Production Weekly* report, filming began in Inyo County, California. Inyo is a popular filming location, with about 400 films having been filmed there, including the first two *Star Wars* films.

Marcus Taormina, after working as the visual effects supervisor for Zack Snyder's *Army of the Dead*, confirmed that he would be returning to do the same for *Rebel Moon*. Dody Dorn, who edited *Zack Snyder's Justice League* and *Army of the Dead* with Snyder in the past, also revealed she'd return as editor for *Rebel Moon* during an Irish Film & Television Academy event on December 9, 2021.

On February 3, 2022, *Production Weekly* confirmed *Rebel Moon* would be released in two parts, filmed back to back from April 18 to November 4 of that year.

On August 15, 2022, frequent The Stone Quarry collaborator, Jay Oliva, confirmed his involvement in the film via Twitter, including that his work had been completed early in the year.

The release date of December 22, 2023, was revealed on January 18 of the same year. Netflix released a promotional teaser for their 2023 movies, finishing with some quick shots from *Rebel Moon*. Kora was revealed with an additional promo image to coincide with the announcement. Later that day, Tom Holkenborg retweeted an article stating that he would be scoring the movie.

### Casting

On November 2, 2021, Sofia Boutella was announced to be starring as the protagonist of *Rebel Moon*. On February 9, 2022, *Deadline* reported several more cast members, including Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Doona Bae, Jena Malone, Staz Nair, E. Duffy, Charlotte Maggi, and Sky Yang. Shortly after the big reveal, *The Hollywood Reporter* noted some character details, including the name of Fisher's character, Blood Axe, the name of Hounsou's character, General Titus, and that Bae would be portraying a sword-wielding adversary.

On February 28, 2022, Rupert Friend was announced to be portraying the lead antagonist, who would face off against Boutella's character, and also that Stuart Martin would be playing a secondary antagonist.

On April 8, 2022, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Michiel Huisman, and Alfonso Herrera were revealed to have been cast in the movie in a *The Hollywood Reporter* exclusive. Elwes would play the king of the galactic empire, while the other three roles were undisclosed.

On May 16, 2022, *Deadline* reported that Ed Skrein would replace Friend's role as the film's antagonist due to scheduling conflicts. Cleopatra Coleman, Fra Fee, and Rhian Rees were also added to the cast in undisclosed roles.

During Netflix Geeked Week 2022, Netflix revealed that Anthony Hopkins would be portraying JC-1435, a sentient Jimmy combat machine that once defended a slain king.

### Filming

While promoting *Army of Thieves*, Zack Snyder mentioned his plans to start filming *Rebel Moon* in May 2022. It was later reported in *Production Weekly* that filming would begin March 1, 2022, and last for six months. They eventually settled on a schedule of April 18-November 4, and began filming on April 19, 2022. Snyder released three photos to celebrate the start of production on April 19, including the first look at General Titus.

On June 25, 2022, Green Meadow Growers posted about their work on *Rebel Moon* on their Instagram. Their company grows and sells plants at a large scale, at least in part for film production usage. The post included the first clear look at a full ship, the first look at the Veldtian farming village, and a few other photos and videos of the film setup. They later deleted the post.

ZERØ OPTIK produced four custom lenses for the filming of *Rebel Moon*. RED Digital Cinema similarly invented a new camera sensor for Snyder's previous movie, *Army of the Dead*, for which ZERØ OPTIK built custom lens housing. RED Digital Cinema released a promotional mini-documentary about their V-RAPTOR XL 8k camera featuring Zack Snyder from the set of *Rebel Moon*. The video is available in the video gallery below.

Netflix filed for the "REBEL MOON" trademark on November 23, 2022. The trademark may be used on any number of products released in association with *Rebel Moon*, including action figures, electronics, dishware, books, and special events such as amusement park rides. Products and events were not confirmed at this time.

On the morning of November 29, 2022, Snyder posted on Vero confirming there were two days left of filming. Filming wrapped on November 30, 2022, after 152 days of shooting.

#### Filming locations

*Rebel Moon* filmed in several locations around Los Angeles, including Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita and Gillibrand in Simi Valley. Blue Cloud Movie Ranch contained the Veldt set, which was built outdoors with real wheat crops. Filming took place around the growth of the wheat.

### Post-production and release

In an exclusive with *Slash Film* published on March 24, 2023, Andy Koyama, the re-recording mixer for *A Child of Fire* and *The Scargiver*, confirmed that they were mixing audio for four features. Each of the two films would be getting extended R-rated cuts. Then on June 6, 2023, *Vanity Fair* released an in-depth first-look article featuring promotional stills and photos along with descriptions of many new concepts that hadn't officially been revealed. Among these were brief descriptions of the backstories for several characters and the first look at Ray Fisher's Darrian Bloodaxe, E. Duffy's Milius, Ed Skrein's Admiral Atticus Noble, and better looks at Michiel Huisman's Gunnar, Doona Bae's Nemesis, Staz Nair's Tarak, and the Scribe priests.

The movie received a special early release, going live five hours ahead of the standard 12:00 A.M. PST release of most Netflix projects, making it available on December 21 for many time zones. Zack Snyder and Sofia Boutella hosted a countdown livestream on social media for about 45 minutes before the release. In its first three days, the movie received 23.9 million views on Netflix and easily reached the number one position for that week on the platform, with another 34 million views and an easy top spot again the next week, bringing the total to 57.9 million views in the first ten days.

## Gallery

***An extended Rebel Moon gallery can be found here!***
Rebel Moon - Part One- A Child of Fire - Official Trailer - NetflixOfficial trailerConcept artConcept artSet photo posted by Zack Snyder on VeroBehind the scenes photo released by the Rebel Moon Fan Contest winnersGeneral Titus first look"2 days to go!!!!" posted by Zack Snyder on VeroFirst look at NemesisRebel Moon - Behind the Scenes - Netflix*Empire* exclusive look at Kai and KoraCCXP23 poster by Ruiz BurgosPromotional mural in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City
## Music

 "Children of the Revolution"

*See also: **Rebel Moon: Part One — A Child of Fire – Music by Tom Holkenborg***

## Trivia

* First revealed on March 19, 2023, on The Nerd Queens' livestream, there will be several pieces of tie-in media for *Rebel Moon*.
	+ The previously-confirmed *Rebel Moon* art book is still in the works.
	+ There will be a graphic novel connected to the universe.
	+ There will be an animated short released alongside the movie.
	+ Character figures are planned.
* There is a film novelization for the movie.
* The art/behind-the-scenes book will be the first of two.

## External links

* Watch *Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire* on Netflix
* *Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire* on the Zack Snyder Wiki

## References

1. ↑ Jordan Farley (author). November 9, 2023. *Total Film* #344 p.50. "Made for a relatively thrifty $166 million - a steal when you consider that's a twofer. . ."
2. ↑ Zack Snyder confirms a theatrical release date for *A Child of Fire* on VERO True Social.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Zack Snyder Sets Next Movie, Sci-Fi Adventure 'Rebel Moon', at Netflix" - *The Hollywood Reporter*
4. ↑ - "Zack Snyder Is Developing a Star Wars Film Outside the New Trilogy" - *Vulture*
5. ↑ Jack Shepherd. "Zack Snyder's *Justice League* experience meant *Rebel Moon* was almost a TV show – but the Snyder Cut changed everything". *SFX*. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved on November 30, 2023. “'*Justice League* is four hours long, and so the idea of making an eight-hour TV show didn't seem like that big of a deal. I felt like I can direct all eight episodes and make a *House of the Dragon* thing.'”
6. ↑ Brian Davids. "'Rebel Moon' Co-Writer Kurt Johnstad Talks Part One's R-Rated Cut and Nonstop Action of 'Part Two'". *The Hollywood Reporter*. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved on December 28, 2023. “Snyder's *Army of the Dead* co-writer Shay Hatten jumped on board, bringing the page total to 216, give or take.”
7. ↑ Zack Snyder mentions working on the *Rebel Moon* script - Zack Snyder on Vero
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Anthony Breznican. "Zack Snyder Goes Galactic: Exclusive First Look at *Rebel Moon*". *Vanity Fair*. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved on June 6, 2023. “This time the 300 and Justice League filmmaker is creating not just one world but a sprawling menagerie of planets, full of cyborg warriors with molten-metal swords, giant half-humanoid arachnids, and ancient robots that seem to have emerged more from medieval times than the future.”
9. ↑ "'Beverly Hills Cop 4' Among 23 New Features to Film in California" - *The Hollywood Reporter*
10. ↑ "Army of the Dead" & "Bird Box" VFX Supervisor Marcus Taormina Joins Film U on Friday at 2PM EST! - FilmmakerU on YouTube
11. ↑ IFTN event featuring Dody Dorn
12. ↑ *Production Weekly* confirms two-part film.
13. ↑ Jay Oliva confirms his involvement in *Rebel Moon* via Twitter
14. ↑ "Everything You Need to Know About 'Rebel Moon'" - *Tudum*
15. ↑ "Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) to Reteam with Zack Snyder on 'Rebel Moon'" - *Film Music Reporter*
16. ↑ "Zack Snyder Taps Sofia Boutella To Star In His New Sci-fi Adventure 'Rebel Moon' At Netflix" - *Deadline*
17. ↑ "Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou And Ray Fisher Among Those Starring In Zack Snyder's Next Film 'Rebel Moon' For Netflix" - *Deadline*
18. ↑ "Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Bae Doona, Ray Fisher Join Zack Snyder's 'Rebel Moon'" - *The Hollywood Reporter*
19. ↑ "Rupert Friend, Stuart Martin Join Zack Snyder's 'Rebel Moon' (Exclusive)" - *The Hollywood Reporter*
20. ↑ "Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll Join Zack Snyder's Sci-Fi Fantasy 'Rebel Moon' (Exclusive)" - *The Hollywood Reporter*
21. ↑ "Ed Skrein Replaces Rupert Friend In Zack Snyder's Netflix Sci-Fi Epic 'Rebel Moon'; Cleopatra Coleman & More Also Set" - *Deadline*
22. ↑ "Anthony Hopkins Is Taking an Intergalactic Trip to Zack Snyder's 'Rebel Moon'" - *Netflix*
23. ↑ "Zack Snyder talks new zombie heist thriller Army of Thieves and 'insane' sci-fi movie Rebel Moon" - *Entertainment Weekly*
24. ↑ Zack Snyder’s Netflix Movie 'Rebel Moon': Filming Date Set & What We Know So Far - *What's on Netflix*
25. ↑ ZERØ OPTIK lenses - Zack Snyder on Vero
26. ↑ "REBEL MOON" trademark at the United States Patent and Trademark Office
27. ↑ Ryan Scott. "Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Is Getting Extended R-Rated Versions For Each Of Its Two Parts [Exclusive]". *Slash Film*. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved on March 24, 2023. “And there's also going to be extended R-rated versions of each of the two films, so we're going to be mixing four different features.”
28. ↑ Borys Kit. "Zack Snyder's 'Rebel Moon' Delivers Strong Debut for Netflix". *The Hollywood Reporter*. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved on December 26, 2023. “Netflix announced that the science fiction fantasy was the most viewed title on the streaming giant following its debut the night of Dec. 21, generating 23.9 million views in three (plus a few hours) days.”
29. ↑ Netflix streaming numbers, December 25-31, 2023.
30. ↑ Framestore on Twitter
31. ↑ 26th CDGA nominations
32. ↑ Justin Raleigh on Instagram