REBEL MOON (2023) | Empire Magazine Exclusive Images
Zack Snyder’s Sci-Fi Epic Rebel Moon Is ‘An Accumulation Of Everything He’s Done Thus Far’

You could never accuse Zack Snyder of taking the easy road. Throughout his career, the filmmaker has made a habit of facing up to Herculean tasks – whether being the person to finally unite the Justice League on screen, or to successfully adapt Alan Moore’s master-work Watchmen, or take on a reinvention of Dawn Of The Dead as his first feature film. But all of that pales in comparison to Rebel Moon. For his next project, Snyder is cooking up a whole new universe – quite literally – in a multi-part sci-fi blowout. And while it draws from several significant cinematic touchstones, its signature is all Snyder’s own.

“I feel like this movie is an accumulation of everything he’s done thus far,” producer Deborah Snyder tells Empire in our world-exclusive Rebel Moon cover feature. “There’s so much to it, and so much thought in the production design and the languages and the characters.” It’s easy to agree. Rebel Moon looks to have a similarly expansive plan to his DC ‘Snyder-verse’, this story already split across two movies with plans for more to come. As a sci-fi war story, expect similarly burly, imaginative action as Army Of The Dead and Sucker Punch. And for sheer, ambitious world-building? Well, Snyder has long been flexing that muscle, building it up across his whole career.

Taking inspiration from Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, Rebel Moon sees a group of galactic heroes – including Sofia Boutella’s Kora, Charlie Hunnam’s Kai, Djimon Hounsou’s General Titus, Doona Bae’s Nemesis and more – band together to help the peaceful moon of Veldt stave off the demands of the evil Imperium. In particular, Ed Skrein’s Admiral Atticus Noble. Split across Part One and Part Two, Snyder is able to let his story breathe. “If we cut it down to one movie, we pretty much know how that goes. By page 15 we’re on the road. With a recruitment movie, trust me, I know,” he laughs, acknowledging his own history of assembling ensemble casts. The difference between a single three-hour cut and the two-part approach will be felt. “There are no surprises in that [single] movie,” says the writer-director. “Four hours is a whole different kettle of fish.”

If Part One will be about getting the band together (with all the action you’d expect from a Snyder joint), then expect an even more explosive Part Two. That, says Zack Snyder, is “the war movie, like a Normandy invasion film, but with the first hour in France.” Except, France is now, well, space. Most importantly, the two-part scope will allow time to establish the cast of characters, and the significant stakes for all involved when it comes to standing up to the Imperium. “It’s very much a movie about, ‘What would you sacrifice yourself for?’” poses Snyder. “Everyone’s a little bit broken, but there’s a real catharsis in the journey.” The rebellion begins here.

REBEL MOON (2023) | Anthony Hopkins’ Robot Jimmy Is ‘On A Journey Of Self-Discovery’ In Zack Snyder’s Sci-Fi Story

At the age of 85, you still never know where Anthony Hopkins’ career is going to go next. Recently, he won an Oscar for his heartbreaking performance in The Father, and he’s playing an elder Sigmund Freud in the upcoming Freud’s Last Session. And just a handful of years ago, he was joyriding around in Transformers: The Last Knight. For his next role, he’s taking on another surprising task – not just joining a Zack Snyder movie, the multi-part original sci-fi epic Rebel Moon, but voicing one of its most mysterious characters: the robotic (occasionally antler-wearing) Jimmy.

“Jimmy, I see him as a wild card,” teases Snyder in Empire’s world-exclusive Rebel Moon cover feature. “He’s on a journey of self-discovery.” And it really is one heck of a journey. Jimmy was brought to the peaceful planet of Veldt by the Imperium – the nefarious force hoping to demand all of Veldt’s precious resources, and who get more than they bargained for when the planet assembles a handful of hardened warriors to fight back. (Yes, the inspiration is Seven Samurai.) Once upon a time, Jimmy was one of many identical ‘droids assembled to serve their king in war. Now, he’s been repurposed by the Imperium to do their literal heavy-lifting – and he’s set to undergo a significant transformation over the course of Rebel Moon Part One and Two.

For Snyder, Jimmy represents a significant tonal addition to his sci-fi saga’s more fantastical leanings – an Arthurian element to sit alongside influences ranging from Akira Kurosawa to George Lucas. “I’m a huge Excalibur fanatic,” he tells Empire. “He’s Lancelot for sure. I was thinking about him, and how Milius [another hero, played by E. Duffy and named after Conan The Barbarian writer-director John Milius, as well as filmmaker Mike Mills] is Percival.” Expect a legendary arc for a robot like no other.

REBEL MOON (2023) | Why Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon Didn’t Become A Star Wars Movie: ‘I Knew It Was A Big Ask’

A long time ago, Zack Snyder might have joined the galaxy far, far away. As the director embarked on his tumultuous journey with DC, another possible landmark saga was calling his name – and while it never came to fruition, his idea for a Star Wars movie eventually became his upcoming Rebel Moon, an original, multi-part sci-fi epic. If it’s evolved in the intervening years since Snyder first pitched it to Lucasfilm while in post-production on Man Of Steel, the initial idea remains the same. “It was Seven Samurai in space,” he tells Empire in our world-exclusive Rebel Moon cover story. “And a Star Wars movie was my original concept for it.”

While Snyder’s conception of a Star Wars film overtly homaging the works that inspired George Lucas was a compelling concept (“I knew that the origins for George were a lot of those Kurosawa films,” says the director), there were many reasons why Rebel Moon never panned out as part of cinema’s most famous space-opera. “The sale [of Lucasfilm to Disney] had just happened,” says Snyder. “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.”

A decade later, Snyder has developed his original tale, and is getting to make it exactly how he sees it. “I knew it was a big ask, to be honest,” he says of making the film within the Star Wars galaxy. “But the deeper I got into it, I realised it was probably never going to be what I wanted.” Instead, he’s conjuring up his own universe across multiple movies – which, after initially releasing on Netflix in family-friendly cuts, will get harder-edged R-leaning versions too. Talk about a happy ending.