Say what you want about director Zack Snyder (“Watchmen,” “Man of Steel,” “Justice League”), but the visionary filmmaker definitely knows how to get his loyal fans pumped up and throw one heck of a cinematic party.
Netflix has just lit the fuse on the official trailer for Part 1 of Snyder’s upcoming space opera spectacle “Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire,” which lands on the streaming titan’s site on Dec. 22, 2023, with Part 2, “The Scargiver,” striking Earth on April 19, 2024.
The ambitious two-film project, budgeted at $166 million and described by some as “Star Wars” meets “Dune” meets “Seven Samurai,” is centered around a strange outcast (Sofia Boutella) who must recruit a motley crew of mercenaries, assassins, and freedom fighters to help defend her planet from an imminent invasion ordered by a tyrannical overlord named Regent Balisarius (Fra Free).
Related: What is Rebel Moon? Everything we know about Zack Snyder’s new Netflix space opera
Rounding out “Rebel Moon’s” cast are Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Jena Malone, Staz Nair, E. Duffy, Charlotte Maggi, Cleopatra Coleman, Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll and Sky Yang.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Boutella), 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.”
This electrifying extended preview of Netflix’s “Rebel Moon” is a true geeks’ delight, crammed with a jaw-dropping fantasia of brilliant science fiction set pieces and exotic imagery including massed galactic armies, starships engaged in close combat, flaring laser swords, giant avian creatures, one multi-armed monster, some creepy-looking spider-woman, a glowing-eyed android, and a rousing orchestral scored all wrapped up in a stirring Anthony Hopkins voiceover.
And Snyder Cut lovers will rejoice as the notoriously long-winded filmmaker is already building in plans for an extended edition.
“The [Rebel Moon] director’s cut is close to an hour of extra content, so I think it’s a legitimate extended universe version,” Snyder revealed to Netflix. “You really get to see a lot. It’s just more painted-in all the way. The director’s [cut] is a settle-in deep dive, which I have notoriously done throughout my career. I don’t know how I got into this director’s cut thing, but what I will say about it is that, for me, the director’s cuts have always been something I had to fight for in the past and nobody wanted it.
“It was this bastard child that I was always trying to put together because they felt like there was a deeper version. And with Netflix, we shot scenes just for the director’s cut. So in that way, it’s really a revelation because it gives that second kick at the can for big fans, like a real discovery that they would not [otherwise] get. I’m really excited about it!”
Arriving for Christmastime with the first of two installments, “Rebel Moon” is helmed by Snyder based on an original screenplay he collaborated on with Shay Hatten (“Army of the Dead,” “John Wick 3”) and Kurt Johnstad (“300,” “Atomic Blonde”).
