The return of Zack Snyder comes ever closer. He has shared some pictures from his upcoming sci-fi epic Rebel Moon with the ever-excellent Empire magazine.
Rebel Moon is set around a colony on the agricultural moon of Veldt. The peace is shattered by the armies of the tyrannical regent Belisarius (Ed Skrein) and the ferocious and all-powerful Imperium, who’ve targeted the moon for its resources. Unhappy their existence is being threatened, the inhabitants turn to an isolated young woman named Kora (Sofia Boutella) for help – one with her own past history with the Imperium. She sets out in search of warriors from other planets to fight the tyrannical armies.
The project has been split into two parts. Snyder says this has given him space to let the story be properly told:
“If we cut it down to one movie, we pretty much know how that goes. By page 15 we’re on the road. With a recruitment movie, trust me, I know. There are no surprises in that [single] movie. Four hours is a whole different kettle of fish.”
He says Part Two will be explosive and referred to it as:
“The war movie, like a Normandy invasion film, but with the first hour in France.”
The luxury of a two-part project, according to Snyder, gives time to really explore the characters.
“It’s very much a movie about, ‘What would you sacrifice yourself for?’. Everyone’’s a little bit broken, but there’s a real catharsis in the journey.”
A photo has also been released showcasing a robot character named Jimmy, voiced by Anthony Hopkins. The Oscar winner will play one of many droids assembled to aid the Imperium, but this one has been repurposed for manual labor jobs. Snyder says Jimmy provides an anchor which grounds some of the movie:
“Jimmy, I see him as a wild card. He’s on a journey of self-discovery… I’m a huge Excalibur fanatic. He’s Lancelot for sure. I was thinking about him.”
Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Michiel Huisman, Staz Nair, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, and Jena Malone round out the cast of Rebel Moon, the first part of which is released on December 22nd on Netflix.
