Zack Snyder’s new sci-fi universe has officially been launched with the release of Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, on Netflix. You may have noticed the ‘Part One’ in that title which indicates that, yes, there is very much more to come in this expanding franchise, starting with Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.
Having departed the DCU and its ‘Snyderverse’ Rebel Moon is the director’s latest universe-building attempt. The first film establishes a new cinematic sci-fi, action, fantasy world that encompasses everything from robots to griffins to human-spider monsters. A Child of Fire is a set-up story, introducing a small team of warriors and the threat they face from the tyrannical Motherworld.
There are plenty of threads left hanging at the end of Rebel Moon – Part One, including a cliffhanger that hints at even more action to come in Part Two. If you’re wondering what exactly is in store in Rebel Moon 2, you’re not alone.
Thankfully, a recent trailer gave us some idea of what to expect from the Rebel Moon sequel, but at a recent press junket, Gizmodo Australia went a bit further and went straight to Snyder and the cast to find out their thoughts on the upcoming Part 2.
Rebel Moon 2 will provide more backstory for the heroes
To start with, The Scargiver will provide more backstory for all of the lead characters, which is something that was lacking in the theatrical cut of the first movie.
“We’re gonna get deeper into each and every character, to understand them,” Sofia Boutella, who leads the film as Kora, said. “I think that’s such a reward for the audience, once you see them a little bit in Part One, to get to know them a bit more.”
“We’re going to see more of the individual character’s background stories,” Doona Bae said, adding that her character, Nemesis, definitely gets more screen time in Part Two.
“You really get to learn a lot about all of our heroes, which I think is cool. You get a chance to really culturally connect to the village of Veldt itself, and then really defend it,” Snyder confirmed.
Bigger action scenes
A Zack Snyder movie means you’re signing up for a special kind of action and that did not disappoint in Rebel Moon – Part One. It was a movie packed full of slow-mo shots, creative visual effects and brutal fight scenes, but according to Ed Skrein, who plays the villain, Atticus Noble, we have “not seen anything yet.”
“I get goosebumps thinking about it. Like that fight scene that we did [in Part One]. That’s tiny. You have not seen anything yet of what we do together but also what we do separately,” Skrein said, referring to a climactic fight scene between his character and Boutella’s in Part 1.
“How they win is insane,” Snyder said, before stopping himself. “If they do.”
What is Rebel Moon: Part Two similar to?
Snyder has cited many things that influenced Rebel Moon; Star Wars, Seven Samurai, Conan the Barbarian. But when it comes to the second part, it’s an all-out war.
“I always talked about movie one is kind of like a gather the team movie and movie two is a war movie, in a lot of ways,” Snyder said.
Skrein backed this up saying, “I remember Zack saying to me that he wants Part Two to feel like Dunkirk or Return of the King. You can think about that in terms of the structure of those movies, how long the setup is and how long the battle is.”
Snyder backed up the Lord of the Rings reference, saying Rebel Moon 2 has a bigger climax:
“It has a much bigger ending,” Snyder said. “This movie, it’s like Lord of the Rings, it kind of just keeps going.”
While Part Two: The Scargiver will be the end of the cinematic chapter for Rebel Moon (for now), there are plenty of plans in place to keep the universe alive. During a press conference, the Snyders cited plans for a graphic novel, book and podcast expansion of Rebel Moon, with a video game also on the cards.
Snyder also seemingly has a vision for his other Netflix original, Army of the Dead, to eventually crossover with Rebel Moon, having planted an easter egg within the film that teases the connection between the two universes.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is streaming on Netflix now. Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver will be released on April 19, 2024.
Image: Netflix
The author of this article travelled to Tokyo as a guest of Netflix.