Zack Snyder on why ‘Rebel Moon’ didn’t become the ‘Star Wars’ film he wanted it to be

Zack Snyder
| Photo Credit: Alexandre Schneider

Filmmaker Zack Snyder had earlier revealed that his upcoming space opera film Rebel Moon was originally a Star Wars project that he had pitched to Lucasfilm after Disney’s acquisition in 2012 when the filmmaker himself was in post-production of Man of Steel. Now, in a new interview, Snyder opened up on the idea and why it didn’t take-off.

“ A Star Wars movie was my original concept for Rebel Moon. It was Seven Samurai in space. I knew that the origins for George [Lucas] were a lot of those Kurosawa films.

“The sale [of Lucasfilm to Disney] had just happened. There was that window where, you know, who knows what’s possible? I was like, ‘I don’t want any of your characters. I don’t want to do anything with any known characters, I just want to do my own thing on the side.’ And originally I was like, ‘It should be rated R!’ That was almost a non-starter,” Snyder told Empire Magazine

Snyder added that he knew having no pre-existing characters and the story being R-rated made things tougher. “I knew it was a big ask, to be honest. But the deeper I got into it, I realized it was probably never going to be what I wanted,” he said.

Rebel Moon is a big-budget space opera led by Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins and others. It follows the lead character, Kora, played by Boutella, as she journeys across the galaxy to recruit warriors to defend a peaceful space colony.

Earlier this month, Snyder revealed that the film is a two-parter that will also get longer Director’s Cuts. The first cut of both films will be a fantasy adventure “that anyone can enjoy and watch”. They will be followed by longer and grittier versions aimed at adults and hardcore fans (much like his Zack Snyder’s Justice League from 2021).

Part 1 of Rebel Moon is scheduled to release on Netflix on December 22 with a limited theatrical release being planned. The second part doesn’t have a release schedule yet, though Snyder had said he is looking for it to arrive “on the heels” of Part 1.