Zack Snyder

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon Part 1: Child of Fire racked up an impressive 63 million views over its first ten days on Netflix, despite decidedly negative critical reviews. Now we’ve got the first full trailer for Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver, continuing the saga of our intrepid heroine Kora (Sofia Boutella) and her plucky band of allies as they take on the imperialist Motherworld.

(Spoilers for Part 1 below.)

As we reported previously, years ago, director Zack Snyder had an idea for an epic Star Wars movie that he pitched to Lucasfilm. That project never panned out for a variety of reasons. But the idea continued to germinate until Netflix got on board. Apart from Star Wars, Snyder has said his influences include the films of Akira Kurosawa, especially Seven Samurai, and The Dirty Dozen. He has set his epic saga in a universe controlled by the ruthless and corrupt government of the Mother World (the Imperium) with an army led by one Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee). The rebel moon of the title is called Veldt.

The band of allies that Kora assembles in Part 1 includes a former Imperium general named Titus (Djimon Hounsou); her farmer friend Gunnar (Michiel Huisman); Tarak (Staz Nair), a blacksmith who can bond with animals to rally them to a fight; a cyborg sword master named Nemesis (Doona Bae); a warrior named Darrian Bloodaxe (Ray Fisher) and his sister Devra (Cleopatra Coleman); a spider warrior named Harmada (Jena Malone); and Jimmy, the last of a race of mechanical knights from a fallen kingdom, voiced by Anthony Hopkins. Ingvar Sigurdsson plays Kora’s friend Hagen, and Ed Skrein plays Admiral Atticus Noble, right hand to the tyrannical Regent.

In the climactic battle, both Darrian and Noble were killed, but Noble had an astral plane experience with Balisarius that somehow revived him. Noble’s new mission is to capture Kora alive and bring her to Balisarius, who longs to execute her himself. Snyder has said in interviews that the second film will delve a bit deeper into the histories and backstories of the main characters, which should help flesh them out a bit more (the thin characterization was a common criticism of Part 1). The official premise seems to confirm that:

Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver continues the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle, the warriors must face the truths of their own pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.

Much of the trailer focuses on the rebel villagers preparing for the big battle against the Realm: gathering weapons and ammunition, and training a formerly peace-loving people in the ways of combat. These scenes are offset by ominous shots of the Motherworld forces gathering its vastly superior military technology, equally determined to annihilate the rebellion. Although Jimmy tells Kora she must know they cannot win, she is determined. “Their nightmare is us fighting together to defend something we love,” she says.

Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver drops on Netflix on April 19, 2024. We can also expect a director’s cut of Part 1 sometime in 2024, as well as a four-issue prequel comic expected this month, set five years before the events of Part 1, focusing on Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe. Also in development: a narrative podcast, an animated comic book, and an animated series telling the story of the Kai, all prequels.

Listing image by Netflix