What is Rebel Moon all about?
The announcement of the Netflix exclusive film comes just a little less than two months after Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead made its debut on Netflix. Although 2021’s Army of the Dead was met with mixed reviews, it looks like enough people watched it on Netflix for the streaming platform to continue working with Zack Snyder. In fact, there are prequel films and an anime series set in the same universe as Army of the Dead that is coming in the future. You can now add Rebel Moon to the list of projects that Zack Snyder currently has in development for Netflix. The sci-fi film was initially planned to be a spin-off film to the Star Wars series. Unfortunately, talks of the spin-off were derailed and ultimately canceled after Disney bought out Star Wars in 2012. However, despite no longer being a Star Wars spin-off film, Snyder claims that Rebel Moon will still take inspiration from George Lucas’ film series. The official Rebel Moon logline reads, “When a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, they dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them take a stand.” Zack Snyder added that Rebel Moon will take inspiration from Akira Kurosawa. For those that don’t know, the late Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who is widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history. He is most popular for his collection of samurai films.
TLDR; Rebel Moon sounds a lot like a Kurosawa film set in a sci-fi universe that will be directed by one of the most brazen film directors of all time. Ever his ambitious self, Snyder claims that he wants to use Rebel Moon as a stepping point to form a new cinematic universe and franchise. Although that remains to be seen, betting against Snyder is never really a good idea. He’s one of the few directors that gets a chance to re-direct and re-shoot a film so that it would realize his full vision with Zack Snyder’s Justice League that was released on HBO Max in March 2021. While news of a new Snyder film is always a cause for celebration, we shouldn’t expect Rebel Moon to premiere anytime soon. Production won’t begin until after next year with its premiere date likely set for 2023 if not 2024. If it’s any consolation, the wait should be worth it. Rebel Moon has all the right ingredients to kick off a new franchise. It can’t be denied that Snyder knows how to sell intense plotlines and action-packed battles. Critics might not always love Snyder’s work, but at the end of the day, it’s the audience that has the loudest voice and everyone just can’t seem to get enough of Snyder’s films.
