Zack Snyder says Rebel Moon director’s cut is almost like a different movie

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon will premiere on Netflix in just a few days, but as we know, it will be followed by an R-rated director’s cut next year. The new cut won’t just be a few added scenes of blood and guts, but will in fact be an almost entirely different movie.

Zack Snyder spoke with the Associated Press to tease the Rebel Moon director’s cut. “It’s not an ‘extended cut’ of this movie,” Snyder said. “It’s almost like a different movie. It’s almost a different universe that [the R-rated cut] lives in than this movie.“

The director continued, “The reason for that is because it’s such a philosophical thing to shoot a director’s cut of a movie before you finish this version. All of my director’s cuts existed as a response to the things that were demanded of me to take out of the theatrical version, right? With [Rebel Moon], that demand was never really made. We knew it would be a PG-13 movie. In my heart of hearts, I’d always wanted it to be rated R, but you realize this sort of scale and cost of a movie like this, ‘Well, it’s not 100% responsible to have that be the demand.’“

The Rebel Moon director’s cut actually wasn’t Snyder’s idea, although he certainly embraced it, but Netflix’s. “[They were] like, ‘What if we said do whatever you want over here? Do the PG-13 version and then go nuts [with the other cut]. We don’t care,’” Snyder said. “That was a thing I’ve never experienced before.” Snyder added that the director’s cut will be a “really crazy experience for fans, because it’s the fully realized weirdo, heavy metal, bizzaro-land movie.“

Here’s the official logline for Rebel Moon: “When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.“

Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire will be released on Netflix on December 22nd, followed by Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver on April 19, 2024. You can check out a review of the film from our own Chris Bumbray right here.