Zack Snyder's Two-Part REBEL MOON Film Will Include Multiple Cuts of Each Installment
Zack Snyder has been hard at work developing his two-part sci-fi film Rebel Moon for Netflix, and on top of getting two films to tell his story, they will release multiple cuts of each installment.
During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Zack Snyder’s producing partner and wife Deborah Snyder, talked about how this project expanded into two movies saying, “Originally, the script was one movie, but it was in ‘Zack form,' it was 172 pages.”
The decision to split the film into a two-part movie event came from a conversation with the top executives at Netflix, including Film chairman Scott Stuber. Deborah went on to say, “Stuber 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.”
She explained, “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 [Stuber] said, ‘What if I give you two movies?'”
I’m sure that made Zack Snyder very happy. As for the multiple cuts of the Rebel Moon films, Snyder explained that the first will be one “that anyone can enjoy and watch,” with the second for each installment to be more adult-oriented. “I think for fans of mine and people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive, that’ll be fun for them.”
It was previously reported that each of the two films would be an extended R-rated cut, so that has basically been confirmed by Snyder. Andy Koyama, who is working on the sound for the film said at the time: "We just did the first temp mix for the preview of part one, and it's very exciting. It's a big, huge, space – they probably don't want me to say this – 'Star Wars'-y, 'rebels against the evil empire' thing over all sorts of different worlds. It's really fun.”
He added: “There's going to be two films. I think we're mixing that from June to February. And there's also going to be extended R-rated versions of each of the two films, so we're going to be mixing four different features."
When asked about making these two movies back to back, Netflix’s Ori Marmur said: “Zack came in with so much passion. This is a film that he’s had in mind for decades. As you know, he’s spent so much time working on other people’s IP at other studios. We worked with him on Army of the Dead and we did things that others couldn’t do. We made a film and then a prequel and launched a live experience. With Rebel Moon he wanted to push the envelope again. When we saw how big the world he created was, we thought it would be better served as two pieces versus one film. It’s the kind of story that can continue to grow. He thinks of it as his take on making something like Star Wars.
The story is 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.”
Snyder previously talked about the project, saying: “This is me growing up as an Akira Kurosawa fan, a Star Wars fan. It's my love of sci-fi and a giant adventure. My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out."
The movie also stars Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Doona Bae, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Stuart Martin, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll, Michiel Huisman, Anthony Hopkins, and Alfonso Herrera.
Rebel Moon Part 1 is set to arrive on Netflix on December 22nd.