Netflix’s “Rebel Moon – Part 1: Fireborn” brings massive hype to producer/director/creator Zack Snyder’s radical sci-fi universe, leading to (limited) theatrical release and dizzying talk of expansion. It was December.
Just four months later, “Rebel Moon − Part Two: The Scargiver” premiered on Netflix, with significantly less flashiness, but with all the special effects that pop. The two films had a total budget of $166 million and were shot for 152 consecutive days.
“The movie was written as one story, and the script was over 220 pages,” said Snyder, who took the story, originally conceived as a Star Wars project, to PG-13 and then split it into half-Solomon style. talk. Netflix friendly.
Find out what’s happening in the Rebel Moon universe and in Part 2: Scargiver, which premieres Friday (3 a.m. ET/Midnight PDT) on Netflix.
What happened in the first “Rebel Moon” movie, “Child of Fire”?
Cora (Sofia Boutella), a former Imperial soldier, has a long list of enemies, including General Titus (Djimon Hounsou), Nemesis (Bae Doona), Tarak (Staz Nair), and Darien Bloodaxe (Ray Fisher). I put together a rebel team that wasn’t. The crew overcomes unusual challenges and even betrayal by mercenary pilot Kai (Charlie Hunnam) to deal a major blow to the oppressive regime ruled by Regent Valisarius (Fra Fee). .
In the ultimate showdown, Cora stabs the evil Admiral Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein), crushing his head and slamming him 2,000 feet to his certain death. Kai also removed the biggest Hollywood star from the cast lineup, giving the traitor a fitting death.
Critics panned Rebel Moon, but how did A Child of Fire fare on Netflix?
Critics balked at the first “Rebel Moon,” which earned a dismal 21% Fresh Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to an astonishingly low Audience Score of 57%). Snyder dismissed the naysayers, saying, “If people see the movie, it doesn’t matter what the critics say. That’s the reality.”
Assessing the success or failure of streaming movies without traditional box office metrics is a brave new world open to interpretation. But people were watching. Netflix cited 77.9 million views for “Rebel Moon,” which debuted as the streaming service’s No. 1 movie and remained in Netflix’s global top 10 for four weeks.
In a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Snyder improbably compared Rebel Moon’s numbers to the $1.4 billion Barbie theatrical box office.
“These metrics are baseless,” said Ryan Scott, box office analyst at SlashFilm.com. “And even though it made it into Netflix’s top 10, Rebel Moon still ranked lower than movies whose titles you have to search for on Google. It wasn’t the scale.”
What will happen in “Rebel Moon 2”?Lots of fast action scenes and slow motion wheat harvesting
The action begins immediately after the rebel victory. Noble managed to survive and, determined to exact his revenge, directed an Imperial ship to Korra’s peaceful farming world of Velt.
5 days left until Noble arrives. That’s enough time for Korra and peasant rebel Gunnar (Michael Huysman) to warm up their smoldering love, training peasants for war while warriors harvest wheat fields for the empire. .
Warriors like Hounsou’s General Titus are often shown in slow motion wielding scythes in real Northern California wheat fields. Snyder oversaw his 10 acres of wheat grown specifically for “Rebel Moon,” and got his money’s worth with “Scargiver.”
Farming and peace are cut short when Noble’s ships arrive and once again bring about a super epic and super loud battle.
Critics’ opinions on the second film have not yet been released. Reviews are prohibited until one minute before the release of “The Scargiver” on Friday. Initial reactions on social media were mixed, with Gizmodo’s Germain Lucier I call it “better than Part I.”
What happened to the third movie, “Rebel Moon”?
Snyder, known for his director’s cuts of superhero movies, is planning to release R-rated versions of “Child of Fire” and “Scargiver.” Snyder said the “Adult, Hard R” version is complete, but he is waiting for Netflix to set a distribution date.
Snyder told USA TODAY last year that he felt “comfortable” with the six Rebel Moon movies. However, Netflix has not given the green light for a third film, and the streaming giant has changed leadership on the film. Dan Lin started as the new film chief on April 1st.
“With these numbers and this Hollywood environment, it seems hard to see a continuation of this series,” says Scott.
Sean O’Connell, Editor-in-Chief of CinemaBlend and author of “Release the Synder Cut: The Crazy True Story Behind the Fight That Saved Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” said he would produce an additional “Rebel Moon” movie for Snyder. He says it will be difficult to do so.
“But I learned not to bet on Zack Snyder,” O’Connell says. “Zack and his fans make the impossible possible.”
Regarding the third film already planned, Snyder said, “I’m ready to do something that involves me.”
“I’m excited to make a few more films,” he says. “We’re just waiting to see how everyone feels about what’s next.”
