Zack Snyder’s upcoming two-part space opera epic “Rebel Moon” hits Netflix later this year and has famously been described as the result of a failed “Star Wars” film pitch from the “Justice League” helmer.
Snyder, at the time famous for his work on films like “300” and “Watchmen” and in post-production on “Man of Steel,” reportedly pitched a “Star Wars” movie after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion.
In a new interview with Empire magazine, Snyder spoke a bit about that “Star Wars” movie possibility which he dubbed his original concept for what ultimately became “Rebel Moon”.
With no pre-existing characters and a potentially more challenging rating, Snyder knew it wasn’t likely to sell:
“It was ‘Seven Samurai’ in space. I knew that the origins for George [Lucas] were a lot of those Kurosawa films. 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.
I knew it was a big ask, to be honest. But the deeper I got into it, I realized it was probably never going to be what I wanted.”
The eventual film we are getting follows a young woman living in a peaceful colony on the outskirts of the galaxy. She’s given the task of finding warriors who can fend off an impending invasion by the despotic Regent Balisarius.
Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Doona Bae, Jena Malone, Staz Nair, E. Duffy and Michiel Huisman co-star. The first of the two movies arrives on December 22nd.
