In Rebel Moon, when a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, they dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past named Kora to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them take a stand.
The first part of the movie arrives on Netflix this December, with the second half expected to follow in 2024. According to Vanity Fair, both instalments cost a total of $166 million, so Zack Snyder was clearly able to reign in the budget (the films are an absolute bargain compared to Batman v Superman, for example).
As for why what was one movie ultimately became two, it's all down to Rebel Moon's mammoth runtime.
"Originally, the script was one movie, but it was in 'Zack form,'" producer Deborah Snyder explains. "It was 172 pages. [Netflix film chairman Scott Stuber] was like, 'On the service, under-two-hour movies really do better for some reason,' even though you’ll binge-watch a series of eight episodes."
"Zack said, 'If you ask me to make this less than two hours, I’m going to lose all the character. You won’t care about these people. It’s a character story about how people can change, and redemption, and what are you willing to fight for...' So he said, 'What if I give you two movies?'"
The characters will clearly be a vital part of Rebel Moon and Snyder has assembled an impressive ensemble which includes Justice League star Ray Fisher.
According to the site, the Cyborg actor will be joined by Cleopatra Coleman as Darrian and Devra, a brother-and-sister team known as the Bloodaxes. They're "galactic insurgents who have been angering the Mother World with a hit-and-run spree of attacks against the Imperium, without being especially effective at stopping its reign of abuse and terror."
Zack says, "They fight and hide. They don’t have the resources to have a pitched battle in the wide open. They’re kind of just [frick]ing with supply lines and blowing up train tracks. That’s their kind of thing."
Rebel Moon is set to be released on Netflix on December 22, 2023. A first look at Fisher's character can be found here.