The Rebel Moon franchise may be in trouble. Netflix finally released the second film in Snyder’s two-part trilogy, The Scargiver, and critics and fans have massively panned the 58-year-old’s sequel. The first Rebel Moon got bad reviews as well, but many saw the potential it had and were optimistic of the Scargiver. Unfortunately, Snyder’s plans to create his own Star Wars-like universe may be done after the critical failure of both films.
The Child of Fire has solid numbers when it made it’s debut for Netflix, but the sequel showcased that the audiences interest had dwindled. According to What’s On Netflix, came out to some solid numbers as it had 54.10 million viewing hours globally and 23.9 million views. The Scargiver debuted to 44.20 million hours watched and 21.40 million views. Part II definitely teased another film, but Netflix has yet to greenlight anymore sequels as of this writing. The future remains murky for the series as a whole and it’s quite possible that Zack Snyder is better off moving on the something else.
The Problem With Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon
The mindset of Zack Snyder when it comes to Rebel Moon has been fascinating. When you hear Zack Snyder speak, the concept actually sounds really cool. The filmmaker has gone into depth about how he wanted to subvert the stereotypical tropes of that have been a staple for this genre for quite sometime. Snyder has talked about how wild and over-the-top the film was supposed to be, but that satirical edge was all in the R-rated director’s cut.
It feels that Snyder has blatantly told the audience that the R-rated version is his true vision and the films released on Netflix are a watered down version. That clearly shows in Parts I and II. There’s actually a slow motion Harvesting scene in Scargiver! Perhaps that moment was some of the parody that Snyder was talking about, but that’s terribly translated throughout the film as everything else is dead serious.
Snyder does some of basic don’t that ever screenwriter should know. The character development is quite lazy and weak. In fact, there’s an entire scene dedication to character spouting out their backstory at a roundtable. Rebel Moon is loaded with potential, but the film doesn’t do anything different that we haven’t seen before. The characters are bland, the story drags and meanders, and thought the action is solid, that’s not enough to make up for the entire film.
Zack Snyder Should’ve Found A Way To Translate The Original Aspects Of the Rated-R Version
Would it be surprising if the R-rated version turned out to be great? No, but the issue is that it didn’t have to be this way from the beginning. Zack Snyder KNEW that Netflix wanted a PG-13 version from the beginning, so the filmmaker should’ve figured out to translate his satirical and original version under a PG-13 format. If he couldn’t do that he should’ve either lower the budget to the point where Netflix would accept the Rated-R version.
The purpose should’ve been to make the PG-13 releases as good as they could be. Snyder’s seem to misunderstand what a director’s cut is supposed to be; the purpose isn’t to make two different films, but to add in scenes that give more context to the original version. Who’s going to want to see the Rated-R version when many aren’t a fan of the Netflix films? Rebel Moon does have fans, but Snyder shot himself in the foot by hyping up how exciting the R-Rated version is, but failing to give audiences a good PG-13 version.
Should Zack Snyder Scrap Sequel Plans For Rebel Moon?
The two-part Rebel Moon showcased that Zack Snyder doesn’t particularly have the greatest knack for storytelling. Snyder is an incredible visual director, but his ability to tell long form stories has yet to be proven. His highest rated films all had help from other notable screenwriters that greatly under Zack Snyder’s style. Based on the low numbers, it wouldn’t be surprising if Netflix doesn’t move forward with the Rebel Moon series. Even if the R-Rated version turns out to be a masterpiece, will Netflix allow Snyder to carry out that version going forward?
If Snyder’s Rebel Moon is going to continue then he should have another writer jump onboard. Rebel Moon does have potential to be something great, but it needs a strong script to helm the series going forward. If Snyder refuses to allow another writer to touch his story then it’s best to bury Rebel Moon in a vault of potential franchises that didn’t live up to the hype.
Follow Us
