Zack Snyder Initially Pitched His REBEL MOON Concept in Film School
While we all know that Zack Snyder’s two-part Rebel Moon film started off as a Star Wars pitch he made to Lucasfilm, before that happened, he actually pitched the concept way back when he was in college as a film student at the Art Center College of Design back in 1989.
The whole idea was truly inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. That inspiration is easy to see in the plot of the film. Other inspirations included John Sturges' 1960 western The Magnificent Seven as well as Jimmy T. Murakami's 1980 sci-fi film Battle Beyond the Stars.
But, that first initial pitch to his college professor stuck with him throughout his entire career. This is a project that he’s always wanted to make and over the years he’s pitched this concept to other studios as both a film and a video game. But, it wasn’t until he formed a strong relationship with Netflix that he actually got to realize his dream of making this movie. During an interview with /Film, Snyder said:
"It started, I think, in college. I had said something to my professor about like, 'What about "Dirty Dozen" in space? Or an ensemble movie like "Seven Samurai" in space? And he was like, 'That's a pretty good pitch. What about it?' Because it was one of those classes where you were supposed to pitch a movie. And then I was like, 'Oh, I'd do it, that is cool.' Then we did try and sell it as a video game and as a movie at Warner Bros. a couple times."
In the story, a group of ragtag rebels rise up to fight against a giant, evil Empire. It’s set in a “peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy that finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius. They dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them take a stand against the Tyrant.”
It’s a simple premise that we’ve seen in a lot of movies over the years, but this one is wrapped up in Snyder’s signature storytelling style. Not only is Snyder getting to realize this story as a film but also as a video game. When talking about that, and his previous unsuccessful pitch for that, he said:
"We pitched it to them, they were like, 'Oh.' Because I had this idea at the time that I was like, I really want to do and I still would love to at some point [...] But really, I don't think anyone's nailed the 'giant video game' and 'movie' at the exact same time. Really nailed it. Where the video game is as good as the movie and the movie's as good as the video game. And they cross-pollinate and there are Easter eggs in both. And I wanted to do it and they were like, 'Nah, I don't know.'"
Snyder was just looking to give both the film and the game the time and attention they needed to be great. Deborah Snyder, Zack's frequent producing partner and wife, added “Because a video game has too much lead time. You'd be like, 'Well, let's see if the movie's good.' Then you'd be like, 'Well ...' if it's going to be a crappy game ..."
Snyder confirmed that a game is in development and described the RPG as being “huge” and “immersive.” It’s pretty crazy that after all these years, Snyder is getting to bring his Rebel Moon concept to life, and it’s looking like this thing is going to be a huge hit!