Rebel Moon is a sci-fi epic from Netflix and director Zack Snyder. Following the success of his previous Netflix movie, Army of the Dead, Zack Snyder is transporting us to a far-flung corner of the galaxy for a new, two-part adventure.
Originally pitched as a possible Star Wars movie over a decade ago as a more adult take on George Lucas' world, Snyder has taken his ideas and reimagined Rebel Moon as taking place in its own standalone universe.
Now, the film will take us to a peaceful moon colony, Veldt, which is forced to surrender its harvests to the invading Imperium forces of the tyrannical Mother World. To resist the invasion, a young woman sets out on an interstellar adventure to recruit a group of warriors to help defend her adoptive home world.
Here's what we know about Rebel Moon right now.
Rebel Moon release date
Rebel Moon is slated to release exclusively on Netflix on December 22, 2023.
Rebel Moon plot
Netflix's Rebel Moon synopsis reads: "From Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind 300, Man of Steel, and Army of the Dead, comes REBEL MOON, an epic science-fantasy event decades in the making. When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival.
"Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed."
Netflix has noted in multiple Tudum articles that film is inspired by Akira Kurosawa's classic movie, Seven Samurai.
Zack Snyder just unveiled the first look at Rebel Moon's villain (played by Ed Skrein) on @NetflixTudum https://t.co/X2pMvwMsjT pic.twitter.com/77ujN3Ge5yJune 7, 2023
Rebel Moon cast
It takes a lot of stars to populate a galaxy, and Rebel Moon boasts a huge ensemble of big-name stars. Sofia Boutella leads the cast as Kora, an Imperium deserter who has been hiding out on the moon of Veldt, and is dispatched to gather troops to help resist the oppressors.
On her quest, Kora will cross paths with Kai, a mercenary spaceship pilot played by Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Michiel Huisman's (Game of Thrones) Gunnar, a farmer from Veldt who knows little of life off-world, and General Titus (Djimon Hounsou, Gran Turismo), a hardened gladiator who once worked for the Imperium.
The villain of the piece is Admiral Atticus Noble, an Imperium enforcer played by Ed Skrein (Deadpool). Noble is the commandant of a fleet of fighters travelling in a massive space cruiser called The King's Gaze. Skrein told Tudum that his character is "a ruthless, cold man who has chosen horror over morality... he has cast morality aside in the name of ambition".
Sir Anthony Hopkins is also on hand as the voice of Jimmy, an ancient robot knight that leads a peaceful existence after defending a slain king in the past.
The film also features Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Jena Malone, Fra Fee, Cleopatra Coleman, Alfonso Herrera, Stuart Martin, Staz Nair, Sky Yang, Rhian Rees, E. Duffy, and Charlotte Maggi.
Is there a Rebel Moon trailer?
We haven't seen a proper trailer for Rebel Moon just yet, though we did see a brief bit of footage in a sizzle reel that Netflix release showcasing all of its big-ticket movies releasing in 2023, which you can find below. Skip ahead to around the two-minute mark to get your first glimpse at Rebel Moon.
Will there be a director's cut of Rebel Moon?
In a word, yes. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Zack Snyder revealed that he'll be releasing multiple cuts of Rebel Moon for fans to look forward to.
"The first version of Rebel Moon to hit screens will be a fantasy adventure that anyone can enjoy and watch", he said. "The later cut will be strictly for adults. I think for fans of mine and people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive, that'll be fun for them."
Zack's wife and longtime producing partner, Deborah Snyder, went on to explain that the film was split into two parts after Rebel Moon was looking like it would be a three-hour movie.
"Stuber [Scott Stuber, Netflix film chairman] 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. 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?", she said.
