Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for the upcoming conclusion to Zack Snyder‘s sci-fi epic, Rebel Moon.

• READ MORE: Who voices Jimmy in ‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child Of Fire’?

Titled Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, the film is set to stream exclusively via the streaming platform on April 19 next year. The film will serve as the continuation and conclusion to Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child Of Fire, which premiered on Netflix on December 22.

In the trailer for Part Two: The Scargiver, we see glimpses of flashbacks led by Djimon Hounsou’s General Titus and the ramifications for Sofia Boutella’s Kora from the ending of Part One: A Child Of Fire.

Watch the trailer for Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver below.

Part One stars Sofia Boutella as fearsome warrior Kora, a stranger with a mysterious past who crash lands on a moon and begins a new life among a peaceful settlement of farmers. However, she soon becomes their only hope of survival after they find themselves entangled with a tyrannical leader.

Rebel Moon’s cast is led by Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Fra Fee and Anthony Hopkins, who plays an android on a journey of self-discovery.

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Zack Snyder‘s new sci-fi film Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child Of Fire has been branded a “disaster” in scathing first reviews.

Part One, which will be released on Netflix on December 22, stars Sofia Boutella as fearsome warrior Kora, a stranger with a mysterious past who crash lands on a moon and begins a new life among a peaceful settlement of farmers. However, she soon becomes their only hope of survival after they find themselves entangled with a tyrannical leader.

The film also stars Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Fra Fee and Anthony Hopkins, who plays an android on a journey of self-discovery.

Initial reviews are now circulating online, with most critics heavily criticising the film’s “incoherent” and “generic” plot.

In a one-star write-up, The Independent described Snyder’s sci-fi movie as an “incoherent shambles,” adding: “It’s a film populated by some of the Justice League Snyder Cut filmmaker’s worst impulses: a mess of imagery, some of it attempting to shock, congregated largely around the idea of what might look good in a trailer.”

The Guardian branded the film a “disaster” and criticised the lack of character development, nondescipt greenscreened locations, and “stultifyingly generic plot”.

IGN was similarly scathing, writing: “Despite a great ensemble cast, Zack Snyder’s space opera is let down by a derivative patchwork script, mediocre action sequences and a superficial story that fails to live up to its expansive promise.”

Meanwhile, in a two-star review, Empire wrote: “It’s well known that Rebel Moon was originally conceived as a Star Wars movie. Refurbished and reimagined, it now arrives as a Netflix original. But watching it, it’s clear this isn’t just Zack Snyder’s Star Wars — it’s his The Matrix, his Blade Runner, his Gladiator. It’s Vikings and Nazis and aliens and lightsabers.

“This is an exercise in throwing absolutely everything at the wall, and seeing what sticks. Unfortunately, little of it does.”

In November, Snyder revealed that the film will receive an R-rated director’s cut, which will be “a full hour longer”.

Rebel Moon: Part One – Child Of Fire arrives on Netflix on December 22. Part Two: The Scargiver will release in April of next year.

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As fans of Watchmen and Man Of Steel will know, Zack Snyder doesn’t make small movies. Critics can be sniffy, but the director’s bold, bombastic style has earned him a famously loyal following. After Joss Whedon was drafted in to rework Snyder’s 2017 superhero movie Justice League, fans launched a vociferous #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign that proved controversial but successful. In 2021, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released with a much darker tone, lashings of violence and a jumbo four-hour runtime.

Snyder is known for turning iconic IP into ultra-modern blockbusters, but now he’s building a movie universe of his own. Rebel Moon started life as a rejected pitch for a Star Wars movie and retains a similar epic scope to George Lucas’s space opera. Premiering this month on Netflix, the first film follows renegade Kora (Sofia Boutella) as she assembles a motley crew of rebels to resist the Motherworld, a corrupt multi-planet dictatorship that she escaped from. It’s splashy, spectacular and co-stars Anthony Hopkins as the voice of a melancholy robot called Jimmy. Here, Snyder discusses his plans for Rebel Moon including – you’ve guessed it – director’s cuts of the two movies he already has in the can.

What made you think of Anthony Hopkins for the voice of Jimmy?

“I mean, I was like, ‘Who can I get to be Jimmy? Patrick Stewart? Gabriel Byrne? Something like that?’ And then they were like, ‘What about Hopkins?’ I was like, ‘What about him?’ Like, that’s not a cool thing to say: What about Hopkins? Yes, of course Hopkins! And so we went and asked him and he was like, ‘Sure. Sounds cool.’ It was as simple as that.”

It feels perfect because his voice has such a melancholy quality to it…

“It absolutely does. That’s what I love about him: he can be sort of noble and weary at the same time. And that’s what Jimmy is: he tries to keep his weird dignity. He’s kind of the whipping boy, even though [in the past] he was this fucking crazy war machine. Given the chance, he could murder everybody, but he’s just so broken by the king’s death that he just doesn’t care anymore.”

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver is coming in April. Do you have the franchise’s future mapped out beyond that?

“Yeah. If we were to go forward, there’s another group of movies we could continue [the story] with. I think when you see movie two, you will understand at the end where it could go. And then there’s the two director’s cuts that are coming, too.”

How will the R-rated director’s cut of Rebel Moon be different from the ‘original’ version?

“Well, the PG-13 [cut] is really a very commercial version of the movie, which is in essence what sci-fi has to be [now] because of its cost. That is to say, if it’s too dark, edgy, violent and sexual, the audience goes like that [shrinks]. Netflix were the ones that came up with the idea for the director’s cut. And I was like, ‘Absolutely perfect!’ It gives me the ability to work on the PG-13 version not in opposition to the studio, but in coordination with them, because I know I always have the director’s cut [too]. So as I make cuts and adjust this movie down so that it’s PG-13 and two hours, I don’t feel like I’m being pushed into it. Whereas my relationship with the studios in the past has always been that the version that’s released theatrically – for me, anyway – is always a little bit of a fight. Because I don’t want to do everything that they want me to do.”

That must be liberating for you as a filmmaker?

“It’s the best thing ever. I like that I’ve been able to go kind of wide-eyed into this process. I’ve always railed against the studio when it comes to this PG-13 model that I’ve been in for a while. And so being able to not have those notes or [have to] cut the movie in response to them, it feels like more of a partnership. And so I’m excited and willing to be the architect of the shorter version of the movie.”

Does that feel vindicating too? Because Netflix clearly appreciate what you can do with a director’s cut…

“Oh, 100 per cent. It feels like they 100 per cent get the concept of what the director’s cut is to me, and that’s a really refreshing place to be.”

Ridley Scott has said his director’s cut of Napoleon is currently running at four hours and 10 minutes, which is a shade longer than Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Does that also feel vindicating?

“Well, Ridley has always been known for his director’s cuts as well. I mean, he has a long history of director’s cuts, so it’s cool. I’m really a huge Ridley Scott fan so I’ll be excited to see that.”

You’re known for making genre movies, but is there a musician you’d particularly like to make a biopic of?

“Well, they did the Johnny Cash movie [Walk The Line] and that was great – that would have been my first choice. I’m a big Nick Cave fan, but there are great movies with Nick Cave, though there’s probably more to be done there. And I’ve always loved Mick Jagger. Oh, and Bob Dylan of course. You know, all these guys have already got a legacy that’s cemented, but I’m always interested in the why of it.”

A Mick Jagger biopic could be fascinating, because he’s such an iconic figure, but we don’t necessarily know what makes him tick…

“Yeah. I mean, if he was sitting here, what would he be like? I want to take my kids to see The Rolling Stones in concert. My youngest kids are 10 and 11, so there’s a very good chance they’ll be alive in 2060 or whatever [year] is the 100th anniversary of their first hit. And then they’d be able to say, ‘I saw those guys in concert’, which would be crazy. If you think about it, it’s kind of unheard of for a band to be performing at the age they are. And it’s still Mick – his voice is iconic.”

‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’ will be released on Netflix on December 22

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Christopher Nolan has said that he considers Zack Snyder’s Watchmen to be a film that was “ahead of its time”.

• READ MORE: ‘Oppenheimer’ review: Christopher Nolan’s mind-blowing biopic hits like a bomb to the brain

Watchmen was released in 2009, based on the DC Comics limited series of the same name by Alan Moore. It was set in an alternate, dystopian version of 1985, following a group of retired superheroes as they investigate the murder of one of their own.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan said: “I’ve always believed Watchmen was ahead of its time. The idea of a superhero team, which it so brilliantly subverts, wasn’t yet a thing in movies.”

“It would have been fascinating to see it released post-Avengers,” he added.

Snyder’s new film Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, starring Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam and Anthony Hopkins, is released in the UK on December 15, before arriving on Netflix a week later.

Last month, Nolan responded to Martin Scorsese‘s assertion that cinema needs to be saved from superheroes, sequels, reboots and franchises.

Scorsese had suggested that such films present a “danger to our culture… because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those—that’s what movies are”.

In response, Nolan, who himself directed the Dark Knight trilogy of films, expressed his view that there is room for both original content and superhero movies.

“There’s always a balance in Hollywood between established titles that can assure a return in audience and give people more of what they want, that’s always been a big part of the economics of Hollywood,” he said.

“And it pays for lots of other types of films to be made and distributed.”

“A healthy ecosystem in Hollywood is about a balance between the two things and always has been.”

Elsewhere, Nolan recently confirmed that he will not be directing the next James Bond film and that there is no truth in the rumours linking him to the spy franchise.

Nolan also recently discussed the “danger” of films only being available via streaming, stressing that he believes in the ongoing importance of physical media.

Nolan’s Oppenheimer scored a glowing five-star review from NME upon its release in July. In the review, NME wrote that the film was “not just the definitive account of the man behind the atom bomb”, but a “monumental achievement in grown-up filmmaking”.

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Zack Snyder has revealed that his Rebel Moon films will receive R-rated director’s cuts at Netflix.

• READ MORE: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ review: an unflinching update fans can be proud of

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly to promote his upcoming Netflix sci-fi epic franchise, Snyder confirmed that his previously announced director’s cuts of Rebel Moon are indeed real, and that “big chunks of the movie are different.”

Snyder told Entertainment Weekly that when he first began working on Rebel Moon, he had “written the script, in a vacuum just as I would was my normal aesthetic — a very hard, very like sexy, violent, crazy, everything’s all at 11” and figured he would “collapse it onto a more broader audience adventure.”

However, Snyder says that Netflix were supportive of his original vision: “In my conversations with Netflix, they were always like ‘Would there be any way to go back to your original subversive R-rated version? Then you can do your thing and we can have that as a separate piece of content.”

Snyder went on to explain: “I’m super proud of the PG-13 version of the movie. I really am. I think it’s really fun and it’s clean and cool but again, just the sort of weirdo darkness of the R-rated version if that was sort of my original thesis for what the movie could be, that’s what we did. That’s what we made in the R-rated version.”

According to the director, the director’s cut of Rebel Moon will be significantly longer, and a lot more different from the PG version. “It’s a full hour longer. It’s not just slightly different or a little bit more. There are big chunks of the movie that are different.”

“This was the first time I had ever been able to make a movie and plan for that,” Snyder said. “The cut was not me fighting with them like, ‘Okay, you won’t do what I want. Can I at least release it on DVD?’ It was us going together.”

Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire, will be the first of two films in the franchise. Part two, titled Rebel Moon: The Scargiver, is expected to release sometime in 2024. A release date for their respective director’s cut have yet to be announced.

Rebel Moon’s cast is led by Sofia Boutella as fearsome warrior Kora, alongside Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Fra Fee and Anthony Hopkins, who plays an android on a journey of self-discovery.

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Evil Genius Games has taken legal action against Netflix regarding the “wrongful termination” of a contract to create a tabletop role-playing game set in the world of Rebel Moon.

• READ MORE: How Inon Zur made the year’s best video game score

Rebel Moon is the upcoming sci-fi film from director Zack Snyder, slated for a release on Netflix on December 22, 2023, with a limited theatrical release in the works.

Filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California today (September 28), the lawsuit alleged that Evil Genius Games and Netflix agreed to release the game to tie in with the film’s release date.

This was supposedly signed in March of this year and the developer paid the streaming service for the license for the film. Profits were to be shared between the two parties and Evil Genius Games claimed that it shifted its focus from other ventures to work on the tabletop role-playing game.

“In addition to Rebel Moon themed sequels, television shows, graphic novels, and other potential content and merchandise, Mr. Snyder expressly requested that there be a Rebel Moon based TTRPG,” read the suit.

“To Mr. Snyder, a TTRPG was critical to the development of the entire Rebel Moon universe since it would provide content for future Rebel Moon derivatives.”

To this end, Evil Genius Games apparently developed a 228-page world bible for the game, a 430-page player’s guide and a 337-page game master’s guide.

However, Netflix accused the developer of “breaching the Agreement’s confidentiality provisions – ‘and Netflix’s trust’ – by allegedly releasing confidential Rebel Moon content at a trade show and then disclosing unapproved artwork for the Rebel Moon game to retailers”.

It terminated the agreement in May 2023 and, in so doing, asserted ownership of Evil Genius Games’ intellectual property. However, the suit stated that two Netflix employees were the ones who showed off sample artwork from the developer’s initial pitch to the retailers at the trade show.

Evil Genius Games is seeking a jury trial for alleged breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and declaratory relief.

When contacted by NME, Netflix declined to comment.

In other gaming news, one of Meta’s new chatbots is an AI Snoop Dogg who acts as a Dungeon Master.

The post Developer of cancelled ‘Rebel Moon’ game sues Netflix appeared first on NME.

Producers on the upcoming Rebel Moon film have opened up on how they feel about Zack Snyder‘s sci-fi film franchise no longer being attached to Star Wars.

• READ MORE: ‘Ahsoka’ review: lore-heavy Star Wars spin-off will please diehards
  

Last week, Netflix released the trailer for Snyder’s Rebel Moon, confirming its December 22 release date on the platform. December’s film, titled Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire, will be the first of two films in the franchise. Part two, titled Rebel Moon: The Scargiver, is expected to release sometime in 2024.

In 2013, when Snyder was gearing up to release Man Of Steel, news broke that he was developing a Star Wars movie inspired by Akira Kurosawa. However, in May 2021, Snyder distanced himself from the Star Wars franchise, saying Rebel Moon would be its own thing: “I’ve been working on it away from the Star Wars universe, on my own, as a sci-fi thing… It’s still a sci-fi thing. It’s the same story. Now, I’m just going to let Star Wars be Star Wars.”

Now, two producers on the film have spoken about their thoughts of Rebel Moon‘s separation from Star Wars. Zack Snyder’s wife Deborah Snyder told Slash Film: “Once, it was a Star Wars film, and I never wanted it to be. I remember, I said to Zack, ‘I just feel like your hands are going to be tied so much in what that IP is,’ even though it kind of lived outside of it. So I was kind of happy when that fell apart, because I always felt like it was better.”

Eric Newman added: “I remember [Zack] calling me at some point, and this has got to be 15 years ago, saying, ‘I’m thinking of doing Seven Jedi, in the Star Wars universe.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a cool idea.’ Then, a few years later, he calls me and goes, ‘You know, I think it could be a television show.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, let’s do this! Fuck Star Wars! Let’s do this as a TV show.’

Rebel Moon’s cast is led by Sofia Boutella as fearsome warrior Kora, alongside Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Fra Fee and Anthony Hopkins, who plays an android on a journey of self-discovery.

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Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for Zack Snyder’s upcoming space opera Rebel Moon – check it out below.

Based on an original story by the director, Rebel Moon is described as “an epic science-fantasy event decades in the making”. It’s the first part of two, and reportedly had a combined budget of $166million.

• READ MORE: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ review: an unflinching update fans can be proud of

The first part is officially titled Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child Of Fire, while the second instalment, expected to be released in 2024, is called Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver.

The film’s cast is led by Sofia Boutella as fearsome warrior Kora, alongside Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Fra Fee and Anthony Hopkins, who plays an android on a journey of self-discovery.

An official synopsis reads: “When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora, 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.”

At a special media event today (August 22), to promote the new movie in London, director and co-writer Snyder (Man Of Steel, Army Of The Dead) said: “Everyone in this group of rebels is on a redemptive journey… they all have a dark past.

Producer Deborah Snyder added: “It’s amazing to work on an original IP… it’s been really fun for us.”

Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child Of Fire is scheduled for release December 22 on Netflix.

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