Zack Snyder Opens up About Pitching the ‘Rebel Moon’ Story as a ‘Star Wars’ Movie Ten Years Ago
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm back in October 2012, they announced they would be making Episodes VII-IX, but they also shared plans to make spin-off films set in a galaxy far, far away. (One of them was already in development under the previous regime, a Han Solo origin story with Lawrence Kasdan writing.) That decision opened the doors to a plethora of filmmakers to pitch their own takes on the Star Wars galaxy, from John Knoll pitching a story that would eventually morph into Rogue One, to Guillermo del Toro advocating for a Jabba the Hutt story à la The Godfather. One of the proposals that Lucasfilm received was by 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder.
The story was based on something Snyder had been mulling for a while, and though it never made it into any stage of development, he kept the idea and eventually brought it to Netflix under the name Rebel Moon. The film has now been split into two parts after the streamer realized the story was too big for just one installment, and it’s already been shot, with the first part gearing up for release on December 22. The original story follows Sofia Boutella as Kora, the emerging leader of a group of outcasts and refugees on a farmer-populated moon that circles a gas giant. They are rebelling against the authoritarian Imperium. Does that sound familiar?
Rebel Moon is the focus of the latest issue of Empire Magazine, and as part of the interview that the filmmaker did with the publication, Snyder talked about pitching his idea to Lucasfilm back in the day, and how he actually knew it wouldn’t fly with the studio:
“The sale [of Lucasfilm to Disney] had just happened. There was that window where, you know, who knows what’s possible? I was like, ‘I don’t want any of your characters. I don’t want to do anything with any known characters, I just want to do my own thing on the side.’ And originally I was like, ‘It should be rated R!’ That was almost a non-starter.”
As he then added, he realized, once he started developing the idea, that it probably wasn’t a good fit for the Star Wars galaxy:
“I knew it was a big ask, to be honest. But the deeper I got into it, I realised it was probably never going to be what I wanted.”
In the end, though, he got what he wanted. His ongoing deal with Netflix gives him enough freedom to explore any ideas he has, gloves off. In fact, Zack Snyder has already announced that the film that will air on the platform on December 22 will be one “that anyone can enjoy and watch,” as he told Vanity Fair last month. At a later, unspecified date, he will release a recut, harder-edged version of the movie: “I think for fans of mine and people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive, that’ll be fun for them,” he said.
In hindsight, there is also an argument to be made, even before seeing the film, that it was eventually best not to leave it in Lucasfilm’s hands. Few projects ever went any deep into development, and after what happened with Solo and Lucasfilm getting cold feet about standalone projects, it’s likely that Snyder would have never had the chance to make the film. It seems like he’s softened up about making it R-rated since he will be releasing a PG-13 version first, but obviously, the one he will feel more passionate about is the harder-edged cut. That would have never happened under Lucasfilm, and probably, nor should it. Star Wars is not that franchise, and it probably shouldn’t be either.
And with all that said, Star Wars fans who enjoy Zack Snyder’s films will have something to look forward to now. In December, we will be four years without a new Star Wars movie. As far as the overall story, Rebel Moon will be as close as we get to it for another 2.5 years.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
