The wait for Zack Snyder’s latest polarizing masterpiece is finally over... kind of. Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire hit Netflix on December 21, giving audiences a taste of the streamer’s next potential franchise. Snyder and Netflix have huge plans for this new world, which is said to be a darker, sexier take on traditional epics like Star Wars, Dune, and Lord of the Rings. And Rebel Moon itself is certainly big, but it’s also a two-parter. The second half of the story is set to premiere in April 2024. And two extended versions are waiting in the wings, too. If all goes well, it’ll kickstart a new cinematic universe, one entirely sprung from the mind of Zack Snyder.
Here’s everything you need to know about the growing Rebel Moon universe, from the sequels in the pipeline to Snyder’s efforts to expand elsewhere.
1. The Rebel Moon director’s cut is coming soon
Snyder’s struggle to translate his full vision into a film’s theatrical cut has been well-documented. From his super-long version of Justice League to the “ultimate edition” of Batman v Superman to the long-gestating extended cut of Sucker Punch, the director frequently has to battle studios to tell stories on his terms. Rebel Moon could be different.
“All of my director’s cuts existed as a response to the things that were demanded of me to take out of the theatrical version,” Snyder told Associated Press (via The Playlist). “With [Rebel Moon], that demand was never really made.”
Instead, Netflix requested two versions of the same story: a family-friendly version, and one that’s “much more sexual, more violent, more Heavy Metal magazine” in every way, according to USA Today. Both Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire and Part Two: The Scargiver, will get extended cuts, adding an hour of material to each movie and telling a very different story.
“It’s not an ‘extended cut’ of this movie,” Snyder told AP. “It’s almost like a different movie. It’s almost a different universe.”
Fans will have to wait a while to see that universe with their own eyes, but the extended cuts are both due on Netflix in Summer 2024.
2. A fan favorite may return in Rebel Moon 2
Despite his very brief appearance, Ray Fisher’s Darrian Bloodaxe is a highlight of A Child of Fire. The actor has been given another chance to prove his chops after a tumultuous experience on the set of Justice League, and he doesn’t waste a second of it. Unfortunately, his time in the sun is pretty short-lived. In A Child of Fire’s climax, Darrian sacrifices himself to destroy an Imperial warship, much to our disappointment.
But don’t despair! Darrian Bloodaxe may very well return... despite getting shot in the chest with a blaster and seeming to perish in the flaming wreckage of The King’s Gaze. Snyder has been coy about Fisher’s fate, though he confirmed certain characters (like Charlie Hunnam’s Kai) are definitely dead. Kai was basically impaled through the head, so he’s “definitely done,” Snyder says. Bloodaxe’s fate, on the other hand, is still up in the air.
“Bloodaxe, we don’t know about,” the director told USA Today.
3. The “rebel moon” in the title isn’t the one that you think
Snyder’s sci-fi epic may follow the exploits of some rebels on an agrarian moon, but the title of the film isn’t referring specifically to Veldt — or Kora’s team.
“Veldt is a moon. And there are rebels on it, so the Rebel Moon title works for the first two movies,” Snyder told USA Today. “But the actual thing that the Motherworld calls the ‘Rebel Moon’ won't be seen until the third movie.”
4. Snyder even has more Rebel Moon films planned
Yep, you heard that right: A Child of Fire and The Scargiver won’t be the last films set in the Rebel Moon universe. Snyder is hoping for multiple follow-ups to his initial two-parter.
“Six films is what I’d be comfortable with,” he told USA Today. Whether these films will be split up into further installments (and whether they’ll each get their own R-rated director’s cuts) remains to be seen. But if Netflix’s partnership with Snyder bears fruit with the first batch of Rebel Moon films, it could have a proper franchise on its hands.
This universe won’t begin and end with films, either. Snyder is already planning to expand the world of Rebel Moon into comics. A prequel series following the origins of the Bloodaxe siblings is in the works, and Snyder hopes to continue with as many graphic novels as possible.
“I feel like there’s a whole universe of comic books that I’d like to create for this world,” Snyder told Barrons at the world premiere of A Child of Fire. “My hope is that it’s an inexhaustible thing.”
