Rebel Moon Part 2 - Release Date, Cast, Director And More Info

Spoilers for "Rebel Moon – Part One" follow.

Zack Snyder's sci-fi film "Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire" was released on Netflix on December 23, 2023, to middling reviews and not a lot of ballyhoo. Snyder's usual amount of visual busyness and turgid, adolescent navel-gazing was instantly recognized by the filmmaker's fans and detractors, being enjoyed or hated accordingly. The story of "Rebel Moon" is a straightforward sci-fi version of "Seven Samurai." A grain-harvesting villager named Kora (Sofia Boutella) finds that her home planet has been targeted for plunder by an evil, Nazi-like space empire. Rather than sacrifice their harvest, she gathers together a modest group of desperate warriors, hoping they will have the gumption to fight off the Empire when they arrive for their grain. 

"Part One" detailed the gathering of the warriors, which included a roguish scamp (Charlie Hunnam), a former drunk (Djimon Honsou), a sword-wielding badass (Doona Bae), and a brother-sister pair of warriors (Ray Fisher and Cleopatra Coleman). It also eventually revealed that Kora was once a soldier for the Empire and resents the violent brainwashing she underwent. There was also an unexpected double-cross, and a dead villain who gets resurrected by a creepy cadre of Bene Gesserit-like witches. Like with most of Snyder's films, there's not a lot going on thematically in "Rebel Moon," but the film is still jam-packed with incidents. 

Snyder's film ends on a cliffhanger, and "Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire" was filmed back-to-back with "Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver." One might presume the second part will match the first in length ("Fire" was 134 minutes) and will feature an extended action climax wherein the warriors finally fight the Empire. 

Here's what we know so far.

As announced in a recent profile for Esquire Magazine, "Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver" will premiere on April 19, 2024. Snyder has announced that this will be preceded by a lengthened R-rated cut of "Part One." It seems that Snyder has now become closely associated with multiple cuts of his own works, likely spurred by the debacle over the Snyder Cut of "Justice League." To remind readers: Snyder had to step away from directing the 2017 superhero team-up film because of a personal tragedy. Joss Whedon was hired to complete the film, and he re-wrote and re-shot many, many scenes, adding humor and brightening the color palate. "Justice League" wasn't terribly well-received, and Zack Snyder fans assumed that Snyder, had he been allowed to make the four-hour epic he originally wanted, would have produced a massive box office success. 

That thesis was tested in 2021 when Warner Bros. gave the director $70 million to complete "Justice League" as he saw fit. The resulting film was indeed four hours long, and it expanded a lot of smaller character moments in additional to altering and improving a lot of special effects. Snyder, because he was allowed to make the Snyder Cut, is now forever associated with incomplete movies that will be released in two halves, or shaved down for violent content. 

The existence of a "director's cut" of "Rebel Moon – Part One," then, shouldn't come as a surprise. There have been no announcements to this effect, but one might rest assured that "Rebel Moon – Part Two" will also see a PG-13 and an R-rated cut, followed by PG-13 and R-rated cuts of the complete "Rebel Moon."

A preview for "Part Two" was released earlier in the month and one can watch it here. By Netflix's description, "Part Two":

"...[C]ontinues the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle, the warriors must face the truths of their own pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made."

So everything set up in "Part One" will pay off in "Part Two." 

The tone of the film is very akin to Gareth Edwards' "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," in that it adds smoke and grit to an otherwise lighthearted and exciting sci-fi universe. It will also feature some sad-faced, introspective characters who question their need to commit violence during a time of intergalactic war. Also like "Rogue One," it will be vital for audiences to be familiar with the previous film, as one will not be able to understand the story or its significance without context; the "Rebel Moon" movies are not standalone dramas, but a single massive epic sliced into two parts. 

"Rebel Moon – Part One" and "Rebel Moon – Part Two" were filmed at the same time, so it's the same team involved with both. The film will see the return of Boutella as Kora, and Ed Skrein as the villain Noble. Anthony Hopkins will return as the voice as the robot Jimmy, and Cary Elwes will play the Galactic King. Also returning are Alfonso Herrera, Fisher, Coleman, and Honsou. Jena Malone has been credited on the film's IMDb page, but her character — an awesome spider monster — was killed in the first film. Perhaps she will somehow be resurrected. 

Snyder will direct and co-write with Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad. Hatten wrote the screenplays for Snyder's "Army of the Dead" and its spinoff "Army of Thieves" as well as the third and fourth "John Wick" movies. Johnstad co-wrote Snyder's "300," its sequel "300: Rise of an Empire" as well as the propaganda piece "Act of Valor" and the actioner "Atomic Blonde." 

Snyder got his start directing music videos, beginning in 1989 with Lizzy Borden's "Love is a Crime." He's also made music videos for My Chemical Romance, Morrissey, Soul Asylum, ZZ Top, and Rod Stewart. His first feature film as a director was a 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead," followed by the fascist love letter "300," based on a Frank Miller comic, in 2006. Ever since, he has been one of Hollywood's go-to blockbuster directors and stood behind the decade-long DC Extended Universe movies. One can say this for the man: he never wants to go small.