Zack Snyder Teases “Insane” Rebel Moon Director’s Cuts

Summary

• Zack Snyder teases ”
  insane
  ” director’s cuts for
  Rebel Moon
  movies, with free reign over running time and rating.
• Snyder hints at more adult content in the director’s cuts, likely through heightened violence and gore.
• The director’s cuts may save
  Rebel Moon
  films, as the first part struggled critically with low scores.

Zack Snyder teases his “insane” director’s cut for the Rebel Moon movies. Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire kicked the franchise off at the end of 2023, making its debut on Netflix. Now, its sequel, Rebel Moon: Part Two — The Scargiver is preparing for release this Friday, April 19.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Snyder discusses what is to come in the Rebel Moon director’s cuts. Snyder said that part of the joy of working with Netflix was his ability “to complete the director’s cuts exactly to [his] specs.” This includes free reign of the “running time” and “rating.” He called the versions of the film “a dream come true for any filmmaker.” Referring to the his cuts being “an insane romp,” Snyder also confirmed that the director’s cuts would release in August. Check out the full quote from Snyder below:

I’ll be honest, it’s probably the most rewarding part was the deal I made with Netflix. They’re incredible partners, and they are to be able to complete the director’s cuts to exactly my specs. Running time is not an issue. Rating’s not an issue. All the things that I’ve been able to do with the director’s cuts, really that’s a dream come true for any filmmaker to have complete free hand is a cool thing.

The incredible partners that Netflix have been on the PG 13, and that is to say the test screenings, the normal notes from the studio, the normal stuff, the normal interaction that you would have to kind of get this property to the place where it can be seen by the most people. That’s a fun job to do together.

For all that, the complete sort of hands-off whatever you think for the director’s cuts is also really fun too. So that’s the thing I’m most proud of is that waiting for you guys in August is this ridiculous, insane romp that I think is going to be for certain people, the best of both worlds.

Will the Director’s Cuts Save Rebel Moon?

The director’s cut is practically synonymous with Snyder at this point. While he has worked on a number of studio films, Snyder’s constant want to make his own — often gargantuanly long — versions of his films has been commonplace for the director. He most infamously did this with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which stood at a 4 hour and 2 minute run time. As it stands, the first Rebel Moon movie has a 2 hour and 13 minute run time, and the second one stands at 2 hours and 2 minutes, so the director’s cuts are likely to be lengthy.

In addition to expanding the length, Snyder also hints at more adult content in the Rebel Moon director’s cuts when indicating that “rating’s not an issue.” While there are multiple ways that an R-rating could manifest, including swearing and sexual content, the most likely way that will take shape is through heightened violence and gore. These choices will create a grittier version of Rebel Moon that could strengthen the film by making the action higher stakes than it is in the PG-13 cut for Netflix.

Whatever changes Snyder decides to make to the Rebel Moon director’s cuts, they will have to be significant in order to substantially revive the films from their reputation. While it gained significant viewership on Netflix, Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire struggled critically. The film’s reviews position it with a 21% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 57% audience score. Rebel Moon: Part Two still has the chance to revive the series, but even if it fails, both films could see improved versions in Snyder’s director’s cuts.