When Rebel Moon exits in theaters this week (and on Netflix next week), it will mark the end of a 10-year journey. A journey that began with a 2013 rumor that director Zack Snyder was working on a kind of Star Wars movie. Turns out that rumor wasn’t true. At the time, Snyder had the idea of taking one of his stories and put it in the world of Star Wars, but it never went much further than that. However, you can’t help but wonder, in the words of another Disney-owned franchise, “What if?” »
Years later, Snyder’s idea it was originally thought that it might be Star Wars ended up being its own creation, the new Netflix movie Rebel Moon. It is a sci-fi action tale about a woman (Sofia Boutella) who travels the galaxy putting together a team to help a small village defend itself against an evil planet called Motherworld. Basically, that of Akira Kurosawa Seven samurai or that of John Sturges The Magnificent Seven, in the space. The trailers make it clear that the film is also pure Snyder, with all the stunning visuals and slow-motion action scenes you’d expect. Speaking with the project’s director via video chat this week, io9 asked him now that the film is finished. (at least the first part) how he thought the movie that was about to be released would have been different if it had taken place in a galaxy far, far away.
“I think ultimately the tone would have made the big difference,” Snyder said. “I think my natural, instinctive tone is closer to the more R-rated tone. I just can’t help it. And that would have been problematic in the Star Wars universe. There wouldn’t have been a mess.
Wait, “what the hell?” Yes, in Rebel Moon two of the characters go to a bar full of aliens, where they find a person who owns a ship that can take them on their journey. Snyder confirmed that yes, this is obviously a very direct reference to Star Wars and because of that, he had to spin it.
“I feel like when you go to a bar and you know you’re in a bar, you have to deconstruct it slightly because you’re aware of it,” he said. “And so you make a mess of it.” And the ominous connotations in the bar become a little more overt, and they have to be, because you have to make a statement about your awareness of where you are. This stuff is absolutely self-aware because, I think, it helps the audience who are 100% aware of the mythology that we’re sort of playing with. And we just have to walk a fine line with that.
A fine line which, if it had been a Star Wars film, would have been even better.
We’ll know more about Snyder in the coming days. Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire releases in select theaters Friday and arrives on Netflix December 22.
Want more io9 news? Find out when to expect the latest news wonder, Star WarsAnd Star Trek exits, what is the next step for the DC Universe in cinema and televisionand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
