Zack Snyder interview: On ‘Rebel Moon’ and making his own Elektra Natchios project
(Originally published in The Hindu on December 19, 2023)
Even weeks ahead of filmmaker Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’s premiere on Netflix, a section of his hardcore fans began sharing the famous screen-grab of the resurrected black-suit Superman, in outer space with his arms stretched out, soaking in the sun’s radiation in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. It’s a metaphorical image of hope to witness the filmmaker’s comeback to glory after his exit from the DCEU, and all the sour developments that followed at DC. With the Snyderverse done and dusted — and his zombie film Army of the Dead not quite hitting the mark — a lot is resting on Rebel Moon for the filmmaker and his fans…. but there’s a bigger reason behind all the hype.
A space opera of ginormous scale, Rebel Moon began as Snyder’s dream of making a Star Wars film. In talks since 2012, when he pitched the idea to The Walt Disney-acquired Lucasfilm, the project eventually found a home on Netflix as a duology of sci-fi films; Star Wars only in spirit. The story follows an ex-soldier residing in the world of Veldt embarking on a quest to recruit others from across the galaxy to lead a revolt against the ruling Motherworld. However, Snyder’s dream has now unfolded to become a universe of insane proportions, with multiple sequels, video games, graphic novels, comic books, a narrative podcast, an animated series and an animated short all in the making. If all that isn’t enough, the two Rebel Moon movies have R-rated versions that are set to premiere on Netflix.
Of course, there are more chances of a streaming platform giving in to Snyder’s thirst for grittier ideas, but that the second version of the 134-minute A Child of Fire has additional footage — close to an hour — reminds you of his whopping four-hour director’s cut of Justice League that premiered on HBO Max. Is Snyder using the medium to explore the length and breadth of his stories? In a conversation with us on Zoom, he says, “The R-rated cut exists because it represents the origin of the idea of Rebel Moon a lot more. Yes, I love the current version and am proud of it, but it’s shorter, more commercial and something for the whole family.” Basically everything we have come to disassociate with him. “My kneejerk aesthetic happens to be darker, and so we wanted a cut that will be a bit rougher and tougher,” he adds.
Read the full interview here: