Zack Snyder’s Rejected Star Wars Movie Has Been Picked Up By Netflix
Zack Snyder has taken his Star Wars movie to Netflix.
This article is more than 2 years old
After recently debuting his blockbuster zombie-heist thriller, Army of the Dead, on Netflix and enjoying its run as one of the most-watched films on the streamer, Zack Snyder has now set his eye on a galaxy far far away. Yep, he is all set with his next project. a new epic sci-fi fantasy titled, Rebel Moon, which was once supposed to be a Star Wars film.
The Hollywood Reporter has shared that Zack Snyder will be co-writing and directing the film for Netflix. Rebel Moon will tell the story of a colony established right on the edge of the galaxy whose peaceful existence is soon marred by the arrival of a villainous regent who goes by the name Balisarius and his mighty armies. The only way to survive is to make a stand and thus, the people appoint a young woman with a past full of secrets to find warriors from the planets nearby and convince them to join hands against the tyranny of their oppressor.
Reportedly, Rebel Moon was originally a pitch that Zack Snyder had developed as a “mature” Star Wars story about 10 years ago. But the future of his pitch remained in limbo for some time and after Walt Disney Company acquired LucasFilm in 2012, the chances of it ever being a part of the Star Wars franchise were further dashed.
But the idea remained with Zack Snyder, who calls himself a “Star Wars fan” growing up, and he began reworking on the story along with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten, who was also the co-screenwriter of Army of the Dead. He started working on his space drama right around the same time he began mapping out the creation of his zombie thriller for Netflix.
Just like his ambitious plans about turning Army of the Dead into a franchise, Zack Snyder has similar aspirations from Rebel Moon and hopes that it will also become “a massive IP and a universe that can be built out.” In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder shared that he has been meticulously building up the universe he wants to establish Rebel Moon in.
“I’ve been doing designs, constantly drawing and really cultivating its fertile ground to make this world fully realized,” he shared, adding that production of the film will hopefully commence in early 2022 as the remaining work on its is already “pretty far along.”
The script for Rebel Moon is being co-written by Zack Snyder, his Army of the Dead co-screenwriter Hatten, and Johnstad, with whom he has worked in 300. The film will be produced by Snyder, his wife Deborah Snyder, and their producing partner Wesley Coller under their production company, The Stone Quarry, along with Eric Newman, via his banner, Grand Electric. Grand Electric’s Sarah Bowen is on board the project as executive producer.
Rebel Moon will be Zack Snyder’s sixth collaboration with Netflix. Apart from Army of the Dead, he is all set to debut a prequel, Army of Thieves, as well as an anime series, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, set in the same universe. He is currently filming Day Shift, a vampire thriller starring Jamie Foxx, and is also making an anime television series based on Norse mythology for the streaming giant.
