It's no secret that Zack Snyder's original pitch for Rebel Moon was a Seven Samurai-inspired Star Wars movie, and the director recently revealed that he actually came very close to developing the project with Lucasfilm before ultimately deciding to rework the story as an original concept for Netflix.
During the Rebel Moon press junket (via /Film), producers Deborah Snyder and Eric Newman explained why they were relieved when the Justice League director's initial idea didn't materialize in the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
“Once, it was a Star Wars film, and I never wanted it to be,” Deborah Snyder said. “I remember, I said to Zack, ‘I just feel like your hands are going to be tied so much in what that IP is,’ even though it kind of lived outside of it. So I was kind of happy when that fell apart, because I always felt like it was better. We learned so much with all our years working with the superheroes and creating those worlds, and to do something now that’s wholly original."
Newman was a lot more candid.
“I remember [Zack] calling me at some point, and this has got to be 15 years ago, saying, ‘I’m thinking of doing Seven Jedi, in the Star Wars universe.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a cool idea.’ Then, a few years later, he calls me and goes, ‘You know, I think it could be a television show.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, let’s do this! [frick] ‘Star Wars!’ Let’s do this as a TV show.'”
The TV series never came to be, either, and Rebel Moon will release on Netflix as a two-part movie.
From Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind 300, Man of Steel, and Army of the Dead, comes REBEL MOON, an epic science-fantasy event decades in the making. When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia 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.
The heroes of Rebel Moon are: Kora (Sofia Boutella), an Imperium deserter who leaves the peaceful Veldt to fight back; Kai (Charlie Hunnam), a mercenary pilot whose Tawau-Class freighter will prove invaluable to Kora’s quest; Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), a Veldt farmer who knows little of the galaxy outside of his small, quiet corner of the galaxy; General Titus (Djimon Hounsou), a hardened gladiator who once served the Imperium; Tarak (Staz Nair), a noble indentured servant who shares a bond with a flying creature called a Bennu; Nemesis (Doona Bae), a cyborg sword master whose mechanical hands allow her to wield molten-metal weapons; Darrian Bloodaxe (Ray Fisher), an insurgent who has been harrying the Imperium with guerilla attacks; and Milius (E. Duffy), a refugee who seeks justice for their home — a colony that has already fallen to the Mother World.
Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire hits Netflix on December 22. The sequel, Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver, will debut on April 19, 2024.