Is ‘Rebel Moon’ Based On ‘Star Wars?’

Later this year, Zack Snyder will drop his sci-fi epic on Rebel Moon on Netflix, which just released the first footage from the highly anticipated film. If the brief preview gave off heavy Star Wars vibes, there’s a good reason for that. The film is a direct result of a pitch Snyder made to Lucasfilm back when Disney first acquired the franchise. Ultimately, the pitch never went past “meaningful conversations” and for years, Snyders denied online rumors that he almost made a Star Wars film. However, that all changed in 2021.

While promoting both Army of the Dead and the release of the Snyder Cut on HBO Max, the director confirmed the Lucasfilm talks and hinted that the film might see the light of a day as a standalone feature. “The 11-year-old me still wants to make that, and now, I know how to,” Snyder told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Turns out, he had up his sleeve.

A month later, Snyder and Netflix announced Rebel Moon. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“This is me growing up as an Akira Kurosawa fan, a Star Wars fan,” Snyder tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s my love of sci-fi and a giant adventure. My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out.”

Rebel finds its origins in a Star Wars pitch the filmmaker developed a decade ago. It was a more mature take on the universe created by George Lucas and didn’t move beyond meaningful conversations after The Walt Disney Co. acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.

According to Snyder, at one point Rebel Moon almost became a TV series, but he ultimately decided the best route was a full-on film, which will arrive later this year.

Rebel Moon premieres December 22, 2023 on Netflix.