Netflix wants to compete with Star Wars. Here are 4 reasons to wait for Rebel Moon!

news culture Netflix wants to compete with Star Wars. Here are 4 reasons to wait for Rebel Moon!

Rebel Moon, Kesako?

Rebel Moon is a science fiction project, and more specifically a Space Opera, led by Zack Snyder on behalf of Netflix. The SVOD service thus hopes to create its own SF saga, and why not eventually compete with the master of the genre… Star Wars. This affiliation with the universe initiated in 1977 by George Lucas does not come out of nowhere. Indeed, Zack Snyder pitches his creation to Lucasfilm some time after the release of Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Considered too mature for Star Wars, the project is refused. The consecutive takeovers of Lucasfilm in 2012 and then of 21st Century Fox in 2017 will not change anything. Zack Snyder does not give up, however, and refines his vision of Space Opera. Thought like a series for a time, the Rebel Moon project is validated by Netflix following the success of Army of the Dead (2021) and finally takes the form of a diptych, a saga divided into two parts like Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049). After filming in California between April and November 2022 followed by a post-production phase, Rebel Moon (Part 1) will be released exclusively on Netflix on December 22, 2023.

Rebel Moon tells the story of a pacifist and defenseless colony located on the edge of the galaxy. In an indeterminate and distant future, the settlers of an unknown star live under the yoke of the tyrannical Balisarius and his legions. Their last hope lies in a mysterious young woman named Kora who goes in search of powerful warriors on neighboring planets. in the hope of putting an end to the actions of the self-proclaimed dictator.

Director Zack Snyder

Some cinephiles are fans of it, others find its Art too “pompous”, too “aesthetic”. One thing is certain Zack Snyder leaves no one indifferent. The American director marked the history of cinema in his own way and knew how to impose himself in Hollywood with a style that belongs only to him, made up of extremely aesthetic slow-motion shots and shots worthy of the pages of comic books. A cinematographic work signed Zack Snyder is recognizable among all, which makes him an author in his own right, no offense to his detractors. In order to resituate this filmmaker, let’s quickly go back to his filmography, and why (in my humble opinion) it is worth a look.

Zack Snyder began his career in 2004 with army of the dead (or Dawn of the Dead), a remake of George A. Romero’s Zombie (1978), and immediately made a name for itself. He then continues with two adaptations of “comics” which propel him to the top, and definitively affirms his style. 300 and Watchmen: The Guardians landed respectively in the cinema in 2007 and 2009 with the esteem and/or commercial successes that we know of them. 300 garners $456.1 million at the worldwide box office for a budget of 60-65 million while Watchmen becomes in the hearts of comic book fans one of the best adaptations on the big screen of the 9th Art.

After a stint in animation cinema with The Kingdom of Ga’hoole in 2010, Zack Snyder offers us the supercharged and ultra referenced trip Sucker Punch which unfortunately does not find its audience and struggles to make a profit. Never mind, the American filmmaker is chosen by Warner to launch the DC universe in the cinema. The first stone of the DCEU (for DC Extended Universe) was laid in 2013 with man of steel. ensues Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017). However, the last two feature films mentioned do not reflect the director’s vision in their “cinema” version. As proof, a Director’s Cut of the two films was released a few months/years later in order to establish Zack Snyder’s DC Trilogy and fire it Snyderverse. If Rebel Moon is fully part of his filmography, there is no doubt that the epic will be epic and memorable!

The five-star cast

Zack Snyder clearly does not skimp on the means to realize his vision of Space Opera. Beyond the visual effects, sets, and production efforts put in, Rebel Moon’s casting alone says a lot about Netflix’s ambitions. The SVOD service and the American director offer themselves the services of big names in Hollywood cinema, but not only. With so many talented performers in front of the camera, the performance promises to be epic. Here is a non-exhaustive list of actors and actresses who play the role in Rebel Moon:

• Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs, Westworld)
• Bae Doona (Cloud Atlas, Sense8, Kingdom)
• Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim)
• Corey Stoll (Ant-Man)
• Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, Guardians of the Galaxy)
• Ed Skrein (Deadpool, Alita: Battle Angle)
• Ray Fisher (Zack Snyder’s Justice League)
• Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: Secret Service, Star Trek: Unlimited, The Mummy)

A saga in the making

Personally, I appreciate ambitious creatives, reluctant to make concessions, and Zack Snyder is of this caliber. Rejected by Lucasfilm, then Disney, Rebel Moon remained in the making for a few years before returning to the spotlight thanks to Netflix. Aware of the potential of Rebel Moon, the SVOD service intends to capitalize on its saga in the making with the ambition of making it a flagship Space Opera franchise, and science fiction in the broad sense, even to compete with the master in the field… Star Wars. It is not for nothing that Rebel Moon is a diptych. Note that the filming of Rebel Moon Part 2 will begin in 2023-24. This should allow Zack Snyder to develop his universe and mark the imagination of SF fans. The director said duringan interview granted to our colleagues from The Hollywood Reporter:

I hope Rebel Moon will also become a massive intellectual property (IP) and a universe that can be built on. -Zack Snyder

The first pictures

We’re going to have to be patient before we can enjoy a real glimpse of Rebel Moon. The 8-9 seconds (between 2min3sec and 2min11sec) broadcast in a trailer listing all the films coming to Netflix in 2023 still give a glimpse of Zack Snyder’s style. The famous slow motions, signature of the American director, are present in this galactic epic, and the same goes for the action scenes. Between the landing of a spaceship, the tense speech of Djimon Hounsou, the determined air of Charlie Hunnam and Sofia Boutella, fans of Zack Snyder should be delighted. The first short video posted last December on Twitter sublimating Bae Doona set the tone. With its new visuals, the “hype” starts again, and allows us to wait “wisely” while waiting for a trailer worthy of the name in the months to come.