Snyder’s Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire reimagines Star Wars

I obviously love science fiction and fantasy, so Rebel Moon from Zack Snyder certainly seems like it will tick all my boxes. Evil emperors, spaceships, laser guns, griffons, lightsabers and swords – it has it all!

I saw the trailer pop up on my YouTube feed just after I had finished watching Ahsoka, and it barely felt like a different universe. There is someone dual-wielding lightsabers, for Darth’s sake. And something tickled my noggin about the whole thing…

I had vague memories of hearing about Rebel Moon before, and there was some kind of link to Zack Snyder and Star Wars. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, I didn’t have to use my brain and remember.

It turns out Rebel Moon was originally pitched as a Star Wars film back in the carefree noughties. But instead of slow-mo Jedi, we got the bollocks that was the sequel trilogy. (Although I am not ashamed to admit – I did enjoy The Force Awakens. But that was because I thought things were going to pan out differently and various things would be explained. Stop judging me.)

When the dark powers that be said no to a Snyder Star Wars, he leant heavily into stuff he likes. This happened to be Star Wars and, like Lucas, Akira Kurosawa. Another influence was Heavy Metal magazine which I loved as a teen. I would probably love it now, but you rarely see it these days.

All of the above was essentially explaining why I said Rebel Moon was a reimagining of Star Wars. It kind of is and kind of isn’t. It was supposed to be a Star Wars film, as that seems to incorporate a lot of things Snyder likes. But when the droids in power said no, and he already had a great story in mind, things needed to be redone. Or reimagined as the cool kids say.

I have to admit, I am happy Zack Snyder has been given free reign with this. I am not a fanatic, but I do enjoy his work and aesthetic, and if this had been Star Wars, Disney may have been a bit controlling. I will refrain from comparisons to DC.

The premise for Rebel Moon, plus the trailer

There is not a lot of info yet, but here is what Wikipedia has to say:

In a universe controlled by the corrupt government of the Mother World, the moon of Veldt is threatened by the forces of the Imperium, the army of the Mother World controlled by Regent Balisarius. Kora, a former member of the Imperium who seeks redemption for her past in the leadership of the oppressive government, tasks herself to recruit warriors from across the galaxy to make a stand against the Mother World’s forces before they return to the planet.

Wikipedia

Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire will be released on Netflix on the 22nd of December 2023. Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver, will be out on the 19th of April 2024.

Now here’s the trailer: