Fans of Zack Snyder know there’s usually a director’s cut of his latest film in the tank, offering a harder-edged or longer version of the initial material. So it should come as no surprise that with his new Netflix space epic “Rebel Moon,” a “harder” cut of the film is already being readied for release after the initial debut.
The Netflix original, which Snyder wrote and directed, is so long it’s being split into two films, and Snyder told Vanity Fair that the first version of those films is a version “that anyone can enjoy and watch,” but a more extreme version of both films will later be released on Netflix.
“I think for fans of mine and people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive, that’ll be fun for them,” he said.
This is not unlike the three-hour “Ultimate Edition” of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” his director’s cuts of “Sucker Punch” and “Watchmen” and of course the “Snyder Cut” of “Justice League.” But instead of offering up his “true vision” in a director’s cut (as with “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”), Snyder is happily overseeing the release of both versions of the “Rebel Moon” movies so they’re merely two different ways to watch the films.
The original story begins in a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy run by an authoritarian government. Desperate to get out from under the boot of tyranny, the citizens dispatch a woman named Kora (Sofia Boutella) to round up a group of warriors to challenge their overlords. Yes, it’s very “The Dirty Dozen.”
Snyder came up with the story three decades ago and originally pitched it to Lucasfilm, before the studio’s sale to Disney, as a standalone “Star Wars” film. That movie never materialized, and he’s reworked the material into its own original story for Netflix – albeit one that was way too long for one movie.
Snyder’s script clocked in at 172 pages, and producer Deborah Snyder told Vanity Fair that it was during a discussion with Netflix’s film chairman Scott Stuber that the idea to make two movies came about.
“Stuber was like, ‘On the service, under-two-hour movies really do better for some reason,’ even though you’ll binge-watch a series of eight episodes,” Deborah Snyder said. “Zack said, ‘If you ask me to make this less than two hours, I’m going to lose all the character. You won’t care about these people. It’s a character story about how people can change, and redemption, and what are you willing to fight for…’ So he said, ‘What if I give you two movies?’”
The ensemble cast includes Charlie Hunnam, Doona Bae, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Ray Fisher, Jena Malone and Anthony Hopkins. Just as he did on his Netflix zombie film “Army of the Dead,” Snyder also served as his own cinematographer on the film.
The filmmaker didn’t reveal how soon “Rebel Moon Part 2” would be released but offered it “won’t be long after” the first one. Expect these “Snyder Cuts” of the films to hit the streamer after that.
“Rebel Moon” will be released on Netflix on Dec. 22, 2023.
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