Sofia Boutella, who portrayed Kora in Zack Snyder's latest film, Rebel Moon, had a fairly big problem with her character that she had to overcome.
Netflix's Rebel Moon is the latest entry in Zack Snyder's filmography, and even though it has received mostly negative reviews, the movie has remained popular on the streaming service.
Part Two was already confirmed to be coming to Netflix on April 19, 2024 and is set to feature most of the cast from Part One, including lead actress Sofia Boutella.
Sofia Boutella's Problem with Rebel Moon's Kora
In an interview with The Upcoming at the Rebel Moon premiere in London, England, Sofia Boutella was asked about portraying her character, Kora, in Part One: A Child of Fire.
Boutella revealed that she had "the most fun [she's] ever had" despite the lengthy shooting schedule but that she also had to do "a lot of research" and "training:"
"It was the most fun I've ever had, honestly, on set, and the longest (amount of) fun I've ever had. We shot for 153 days. I started preparing about four or three months before shooting and I had to, yeah, go under a lot of training and a strict diet and a lot of research."
However, Boutella also admitted that she had a problem with her character in the beginning, saying that it was "a bit hard for [her] to forgive Kora:"
"Zack (Snyder) gave me quite a complex character to play, and you'll find more about Kora in movie number two, about her past. It was even a bit hard for me to forgive Kora, and I was judging her a little bit, which made it really hard to play at first, but that was when I was doing my homework."
The lead actress (being careful not to give anything away) also teased that the audience will "find out" more about Kora and her backstory in Part Two, but that at times it was difficult to portray her character since she hadn't experienced those emotions personally:
"And I talked a lot with Zack and we finally found the right tone for her, and I found her rhythm and her pace from that element that is very crucial that you'll find out in movie number two. But I did not know how to come from that event as a human being because its not something that I've read in a book, in a novel, or that I've seen in a film, so I didn't know where to come from, but I did find it for her and I loved her even more once I found it."
Boutella revealed in her comments that it was difficult to portray Kora initially, likely due to the character's early life.
Early on, Kora became the youngest Imperium officer to hold a field command at only 18 years old, and, as a result, helped conquer multiple planets for the Motherworld.
Kora started as an unrelatable and ruthless member of the exact group she ends up rebelling against, which is probably why Boutella had such a difficult time "forgiving" her character and also why she was "judging her" at first.
Boutella then talked about the "complexity" that came with each character in Part One:
"But Zack, I knew he was going to do something incredible with the image and shot these fight scenes in such an incredible way, but he also gave our characters so much complexity within their souls."
The actress also hopes that Kora is "inspiring and relatable" to people and that she took a lot of her character with her after playing her "even though it took [her] a minute:"
"They're going through something that is quite human and quite relatable in the end, and I hope that as much as this project is a magical experience, its a bit dreamlike and surreal, but that, somewhat, those characters are inspiring and relatable to people. I mean, she was to me in the end even though it took me a minute."
Boutella revealed that she "put some parts of [herself] in Kora" when she was playing her, but she also "took some of her" as well:
"Yes, of course, of course, and I did put some part of myself in Kora and I took some of her with me. I think every actress does that a little bit. But yeah, I did."
Boutella then talked about her own life experiences, such as being "an immigrant, twice," while also detailing how those experiences helped her bring Kora to life:
"What I put in Kora was also just the fact, you know I'm an immigrant, twice. I was born in Algeria; I moved to France when I was 10, and that sense of not necessarily belonging to one place but to the whole world is something that I've carried for my whole life, and it gave me a sense of freedom that I wouldn't have had if I had stayed in one place, for example. Kora also deals with that."
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire is available to stream on Netflix.
