Ahead of Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’s Netflix debut tomorrow, director Zack Snyder teased his upcoming R-rated cut of the sci-fi action epic, describing it as something that would feel “almost like a different movie.” Speaking with Associated Press, Snyder explained the reason why Rebel Moon’s R-rated cut will be very different from its original PG-13 release, confirming that viewers shouldn’t consider it as an “extended version.”
“It’s almost a different universe that [the R-rated cut] lives in than this movie,” Snyder said. “The reason for that is because it’s such a philosophical thing to shoot a director’s cut of a movie before you finish this version. All of my director’s cuts exist as a response to the things that were demanded of me to take out of the theatrical version, right?”
He continued, “With [Rebel Moon], that demand was never made. We knew this would be a PG-13 movie. In my heart of hearts, I always wanted it to be rated R, but you realize this sort of scale and cost of a movie and say, ‘Well, it’s not 100% responsible to have that demand.’”
What to expect in Rebel Moon?
“A peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius,” reads the film’s synopsis. “The desperate civilians dispatch Kora, a young woman who has a mysterious past, to seek out warriors from nearby planets to help them challenge the regent.”
Described as a fantasy epic, Rebel Moon is directed by Snyder from a screenplay he is co-writing with Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, based on a story by Snyder and Johnstad. It stars Sofia Boutella as Kora, Ed Skrein as Admiral Atticus Noble, Charlie Hunnam as Kai, Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, Djimon Hounsou as General, Staz Nair as Tarak, Doona Bae as Nemesis, Staz Nair as Tarak, Ray Fisher as Darrian Bloodaxe, and newcomer E. Duffy as Milius, with Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins as the voice of an ancient robot knight named Jimmy.
