Only two months since Zach Snyder’s Army of the Dead kickstarted a new cinematic universe for Netflix, it looks as though another could be on the way from the director, reworking his previously written Star Wars script into an original sci-fi adventure, Rebel Moon.
According to the director, the story for Rebel Moon kicks into gear when “a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius”. Such leads the oppressed colony to “dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighbouring planets to help them make a stand”.
A vocal fan of Akira Kurosawa, Snyder had previously stated that the original Star Wars script would be “more mature”, basing the story on Kurosawa’s classic samurai film Seven Samurai.
“This is me growing up as an Akira Kurosawa fan, a Star Wars fan,” announced Snyder. “It’s my love of sci-fi and a giant adventure. My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out.”
The story elicits strong Kurosawa vibes too, focusing on a desperate town, a tyrannical enemy, and a confident traveller who takes a stand for the people of the land. Co-written by Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad who have both worked with Snyder on 300, and Army of the Dead, Hatten has already taken time to flesh out the world of Rebel Moon. Stating in a recent interview the writer stated, “I’ve spent the last two or three years building out this universe. Every corner has to be painted in. I’ve been doing designs, constantly drawing and really cultivating its fertile ground to make this world fully realised”.
With Netflix looking to compete with the tentpole names under Disney and Amazon’s wing, Rebel Moon certainly looks like a move in the right direction.
