It started off as a Star Wars project, was retooled as a standalone project, and now Justice League director Zack Snyder’s latest opus is heading our way! Rebel Moon flies into cinemas in New Zealand on December 22 before heading to Netflix.
As the official synopsis handily informs us, “In a universe controlled by the corrupt government of the Mother World, the moon of Veldt is threatened by the forces of the Imperium, the army of the Mother World controlled by Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee). Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former member of the Imperium who seeks redemption for her past in the leadership of the oppressive government, tasks herself to recruit warriors from across the galaxy to make a stand against the Mother World’s forces before they return to the planet.”
Which, as students of ancient cinema lore have already clocked, sounds like a riff on Seven Samurai, which previously inspired the Roger Corman-produced sci-fi banger Battle Beyond the Stars.
Snyder has assembled a galaxy-class cast to populate his epic, with warriors flocking to Kora’s banner including Djimon Hounsou, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Staz Nair, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, E. Duffy, and Anthony Hopkins, while Ed Skrein is on villain duties, and Stuart Martin, Corey Stoll, Cary Elwes, Alfonso Herrera, Rhian Rees, and Ray Porter round out the ensemble.
And it’s worth noting this is only our first taste of Zack’s new SF universe, properly titled Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire, with Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver dropping in April 2024.
Well, it certainly looks fun! And we’re keen to see what Snyder can do now the cinematic albatross that is the DCEU is no longer hanging around his neck. This is his first wholly original (for a certain value of “original”) since Sucker Punch, so our expectations are high—are yours?
