In a galaxy far, far away from the Star Wars galaxy exists a story called Rebel Moon. In fact, it was heavily inspired by Star Wars, and has sparked the interest of said fans, making rebels everywhere wonder if it will be Star Wars-esque in its format and deliver a trilogy of films to our galaxy.
Zack Snyder first took his idea for Rebel Moon to Disney and for a good reason — because the Mickey Mouse company owns the Skywalker saga, and Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon idea was actually intended as an original Star Wars story idea. However, Disney said no dice, which only inspired Snyder to roll his own dice, and make it an even more original project that can be done without Jedi assistance.
Coincidentally, the Force was strong with Snyder, as Netflix struck a deal for Rebel Moon since the streamer wanted a Star Wars type of movie series, and the Rebel Alliance wasn’t available.
Alas, Rebel Moon was brought to life, and has finally seen sunlight with its release on Netflix following a limited theatrical release. Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire kicks off the story, but there is more to come.
How many Rebel Moon films will there be in the franchise?
Snyder has already stated that if all goes well, it will be a four-movie franchise. It’s as if he needed to beat the trilogy idea by one film. Thus, the Rebel Moon series will be a tetralogy, which doesn’t quite roll off the tongue smoothly but, humorously, just might be the reason Snyder referred to the number of films as “a trilogy of sequels.”
However, it’s not all good news. Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, starring Sofia Boutella, is off to a curious start thanks to a series of not-so-enthusiastic reviews. It makes one wonder whether Disney’s disinterest in the project was motivated less by lack of desire in adding to their already busy Star Wars palette, and motivated more directly by potential lack of quality in Snyder’s story.
If the reaction to the movie continues to be Hoth-like cold, then will Netflix commit to striking back with more sequels? Reviews slam its poor storytelling, and there are many claiming it tries too hard to remind people of Star Wars, almost like how this article does.
There is some good news, though, which is that Netflix already committed to the next movie in the series, and actually already finished filming it. Rebel Moon – Part Two: Scargiver is due to be available in April 2024. Reactions to that film will likely determine whether Netflix moves forward with another, or if it permanently scars the intended franchise.
Snyder, who prefers to make longer films, also famously enjoys releasing extended cuts of them and, unsurprisingly, intends to do the same for Rebel Moon, announcing that he will release extended cuts of both of the first films, with part one due sometime in 2024, and part two no later than 2025. Of course, his hope is that they pave the way for a third film in 2025.
Will all four films in the Rebel Moon franchise actually get made, or will its attempt to moonlight as a Star Wars series be its Death Star? Time will tell, but I have a bad feeling about this.
