Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Is 'Weirdo Sci-Fi' With A Touch Of Heavy Metal
Any so-called visionary director that's been in the business as long as Zack Snyder has experienced their share of criticism and cultural backlash over the years. After the surprise hit of "300," the highly stylized sword-and-sandal epic based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, Snyder delivered an R-rated, mostly faithful adaptation of Alan Moore's "Watchmen" that solidified him as a top tier action filmmaker. "Man of Steel" of course led to the birth of the Snyderverse and the highly divisive "Batman v. Superman" that ushered in a darker version of the Caped Crusader and a murderous Dark Knight that proved controversial. After satiating his hardcore fans with a four-hour cut of "Justice League," Snyder sidestepped the internet vitriol of Marvel and DC fans to make the bombastic zombie heist film "Army of the Dead" over at Netflix.
Snyder is also avoiding the potential pitfalls that come with making a "Star Wars" movie by taking an idea he first pitched to Lucasfilm about making an R-rated "Seven Samurai" in space and turning it into an original story. Titled "Rebel Moon," the film stars Sofia Boutella ("The Mummy") as Kora, a mysterious outsider who comes to the aid of the people on the moon planet of Veldt after they've experienced years of oppression inflicted by the rulers of Mother World. Kora, a former solider of the Mother World's army known as the Imperium, subsequently sets out to enlist a ragtag group of strange characters to help her on her quest.
Sure, that story has been told before, but judging from the images we've seen so far from "Rebel Moon," Snyder's imagination is running wild along with the other artists and creators that are bringing this new vision to life. If anything, Snyder is promising some truly bizarre visuals that should compliment his specific, gonzo brand of filmmaking.
Let's get weird
During a "Rebel Moon" set visit attended by /Film, Snyder talked about taking inspiration from a cult classic of '80's animation. Describing the look and feel of "Rebel Moon," Snyder explained:
"It's sci-fi fantasy, for sure. I always say it's sort of 'Heavy Metal' sci-fi in a lot of ways. You know me, you know I'm a huge fan of that illustrated fantasy magazine. And I just like the idea that this movie would exist more in that — there's a weirdness, a little bit, to the sci-fi, a sci-fi weirdness that I love, where everything's not that straightforward and it's a million mysteries. A lot of questions."
Comparing "Rebel Moon" to "Heavy Metal" should already be enough to raise your level of anticipation for Snyder's space opus, especially if the plan is to try and emulate some of the fantastical visuals from the 1981 anthology film. The actual plot does sound like it's been done before, which could be a conscious move to deliver a straightforward story inside a complexly detailed world. Snyder is clearly diving deep creatively here, and seems genuinely excited about the world they've been building. He added:
"We've gone down a lot of rabbit holes with all these little details throughout the film. And I've done little backstories and we've been talking about doing comic books and some other stuff that take you on these little tangents because I do that all the time. But this mythological, I can't help myself, but that mythological, sci-fi fantasy. It's not hard '2001'-style sci-fi. It's weirdo sci-fi in a good way."
The phrase "weirdo sci-fi" immediately brings a smile to my face and I hope that Snyder's excitement on the set of "Rebel Moon" translates to some truly jaw-dropping visuals. Set to release as two films, the first "Rebel Moon" movie hits Netflix on December 22, 2023.