Well, the first part of Zack Snyder’s hotly-anticipated Rebel Moon—or at least one version of it—is out in the world, or at least on Netflix. Unfortunately, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, to give it it’s full and illustrious title, has been getting absolutely pantsed by the critics (including us!) but never fear: there’s a sequel incoming in the form of Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver.
To be specific, Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver hits Netflix in New Zealand on April 19, 2024.
Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver
There’s been no word as yet as to whether Rebel Moon: Part Two will be getting a limited theatrical release like its predecessor, but it certainly seems likely. Also incoming but as-yet undated is the bloodier, gnarlier extended cut of Rebel Moon: Part One, but Netflix and Snyder have said that it’ll hit the streaming giant before Part Two.
For those who have yet to sample Rebel Moon‘s dubious pleasures, Snyder’s latest plugs the plot of Seven Samurai into a Warhammer 40,000-meets-Star Wars sci-fi universe. Sofia Boutella is Korra, a former soldier with a mysterious and violent past who must recruit a band of mercenaries, rebels, and warriors to help protect her adopted homeworld of Veldt from the predations of the Motherworld. Which is pretty much your standard evil space empire but with the added appeal of perennial villain Ed Skrein as Admiral Atticus Noble.
Part One – A Child of Fire covered the “getting the gang together” part of the story, which saw Boutella’s bad-ass and Michiel Huisman’s heroic farmer draw the likes of Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Staz Nair, Cleopatra Coleman, and Djimon Hounsou to their banner. Canny viewers will note that makes for a total of eight, but a few plot machinations and the presence of Anthony Hopkins’ robot knight waiting in the wings ensure that by the time Part Two—aka “the actual battle”—rolls around, it all adds up.
Plot details are being kept tightly under wraps, which is a bit weird because it’s literally Seven Samurai in space and if you don’t know the broad strokes of that story, then God help you.
But there is a teaser trailer, which shows James Coburn and Charles Bronson training the peaceful villagers for the upcoming conflict, plus Steve McQueen’s iconic stand-off with Eli Wall—oh, sorry, I was thinking of something else.
And, like Part 1, The Scargiver will be getting an extended and more violent cut down the track.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is currently streaming on Netflix. Seven Samurai isn’t streaming anywhere, but the Criterion Blu Ray is certainly worth importing.
