Zack Snyder didn’t run into the Justice League Problem with his new Netflix film Rebel Moon. From the beginning, the plan was to cut the film into two different versions: a PG-13 version for the initial release that could play to a larger audience, and an R-rated version that would offer a more unfiltered Snyder-esque take would about the science fiction fantasy saga. Was it a content trick? A new mode that studios can agree to with filmmakers to avoid editing room disputes? Both?
Whatever the case may be, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is available on Netflix, which means Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire: The Official R-Rated Snyder Cut by Zack Snyder can’t be far behind. But what exactly did Snyder leave on the table when the film is already such a pure extension of his work?
In a recent conversation with Snyder, Polygon asked him exactly that. In the past he is described The R-rated version remained true to his “sexy, violent, crazy” vision of a “crazy” version of the Star Wars-like space opera. So is the R-rated cut sexier? Violent? “Crazy”?
“It’s more about a deep dive into the universe – it’s a much more,” explains Snyder. “It’s almost as if the story takes place in a slightly different dimension than this film that’s coming out soon.”
Snyder loves a shared world. Remember, he put UFOs in the background Army of the Dead and says that the zombie film 2021 takes place in the same universe as Rebel Moon. So does the R-rated cut literally take place in “another dimension”?
“It could! We need to see the entirety of the two films. I mean, it’s very subtle, but I’ll go so far as to say that the same line of dialogue in the other version of the film could have a different point of view. I’ll be interested to hear how that Audience response and how they enjoy exploring this different version of this story.”
While the elasticity of Rebel MoonSince the mythology in the R-rated version may turn out to be classic Snyder hype, it’s hard to imagine that the second version will be anything harder than what’s currently streaming. With Rebel MoonThe director says he’s keen to go beyond typical sci-fi action to explore a more brutal side of intergalactic warfare.
“The action sequences in this film are all character-based in some way and they all teach us more about that [Sofia Boutella’s character] Kora,” says Snyder. “In a space movie, the fights are usually kind of pew pew or lightsaber fights, so you have this kind of distance where I really wanted there to be brawls basically the whole time. It’s a kind of retro fight. I tried to do the opposite of what you would expect by using some sort of high-tech weaponry. They don’t use weapons or anything like that [Ed Skrein’s character] Noble literally has a club. So it’s cold and primitive.”
We’ll see how it plays out in a slightly different dimension.
The R-rated version of Rebel Moon currently does not have a streaming date. A child of fire is currently streaming on Netflix. The continuation, The scar donorwill be released on Netflix on April 19, 2024.
