Rebel Moon director’s cut will have almost an hour of extra content

Director Zack Snyder let it be known months ago that there will be two cuts of the movies in his upcoming two-part sci-fi epic – consisting of Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire, which will be released through the Netflix streaming service on December 22nd and Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver, which will reach Netflix on April 19, 2024. One cut will be something “anyone can enjoy and watch”, while the other cut will be a more explicit version that will allow fans to take “a deeper, harder dive” into the material. Now, during a Q&A on the Netflix site Tudum, Snyder revealed that the director’s cut of Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire will be nearly an hour longer than the regular cut!

Snyder said, “The director’s cut is close to an hour of extra content, so I think it’s a legitimate extended universe version. You really get to see a lot. It’s just more painted-in all the way. The director’s [cut] is a settle-in deep dive, which I have notoriously done throughout my career. I don’t know how I got into this director’s cut thing, but what I will say about it is that, for me, the director’s cuts have always been something I had to fight for in the past and nobody wanted it. It was this bastard child that I was always trying to put together because they felt like there was a deeper version. And with Netflix, we shot scenes just for the director’s cut. So in that way, it’s really a revelation because it gives that second kick at the can for big fans, like a real discovery that they would not [otherwise] get. I’m really excited about it!“

Snyder has always been open about the fact that he’s hoping “a massive IP and a universe that can be built out” from the foundation of Rebel Moon. He crafted the story for Rebel Moon with 300 co-writer Kurt Johnstad, and the pair wrote the screenplay with Army of the Dead co-writer Shay Hatten. The events of the two films, which draw inspiration from Seven Samurai, are set in motion when a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. Desperate, the colonists dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.

The films star Sofia Boutella (The Mummy), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place Part II), Ray Fisher (Justice League), Doona Bae (The Host), Jena Malone (Sucker Punch), Staz Nair (Supergirl), E. Duffy (whose previous credits are all short films), Charlotte Maggi (MaveriX), Sky Yang (Tomb Raider), Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones), Alfonso Herrera (Ozark), Cary Elwes (Saw), Corey Stoll (Ant-Man), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal), and Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves).

Snyder, his wife Deborah Snyder, and Wesley Coller are producing the Rebel Moon films through their company Stone Quarry. Eric Newman is producing via his banner, Grand Electric, while Grand Electric’s Sarah Bowen executive produces.

Are you looking forward to the Rebel Moon movies, and are you interested in watching the different cuts? What do you think of Snyder shooting scenes specifically with a longer director’s cut in mind? Let us know by leaving a comment below.