Between his director’s cut of Justice League taking over HBO Max and Army of the Dead bringing a summer blockbuster to Netflix, Zack Snyder has had quite the year.
While the director has had his DNA intertwined with the DCEU for just about the entire past decade, Snyder had plans to tackle another famous franchise.
Snyder initially pitched a Star Wars film to Lucasfilm shortly after Disney acquired the studio in the early 2010s, but the "more mature" take on George Lucas's universe never got beyond the initial discussions.
It may not exist within the world of Skywalkers, but Snyder's Star Wars vision is coming to life.
SNYDER'S STAR WARS FLICK LIVES (SORTA)
Zack Snyder's Star Wars pitch is finally seeing the light of day, albeit not in the Lucasian universe.
According to the The Hollywood Reporter, the Justice League director is bringing his concept for a film set in a galaxy far, far away to Netflix. Titled Rebel Moon, Snyder's next project is described as an epic sci-fi fantasy that is being birthed out of Snyder's decade-old Star Wars pitch.
While Rebel Moon takes inspiration from Snyder's Star Wars pitch, the film has been heavily reworked in the years since he first brought the concept to Lucasfilm.
Snyder detailed that this movie will take inspiration from legendary director Akira Kurosawa as well as the world of Jedi and Sith.
“This is me growing up as an Akira Kurosawa fan, a Star Wars fan. It’s my love of sci-if and a giant adventure."
The film is set to follow a "peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy" that meets trouble from "a tyrannical regent named Balisarius," forcing them to enlist the help of a mysterious woman en route to assembling a team of "warriors from neighboring planets" to defend their home.
Rebel Moon is currently being developed as a single motion picture, but Snyder has much bigger aspirations for his sci-fi epic.
"My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out.”
NETFLIX GETS A SCI-FI EPIC
Netflix may not have the flashy IP that competitors Disney+ and HBO Max possess, but the red and black streaming service is doubling down on developing original blockbuster content.
Snyder has only worked with Netflix once, but he delivered one of their most demanded projects of the year. Army of the Dead was reported to reach 72 million accounts in its first four weeks on the platform, so it only makes sense that Netflix would want to work with Snyder again.
They made a big investment when they gave the Man of Steel director nearly $100 million dollars to make his zombie heist flick, and considering their satisfaction with its performance, a similar (or even larger) budget is likely on the way for Rebel Moon.
A DECADE-LONG VISION
For Snyder, this is a big win.
It's not uncommon for directors or scriptwriters to have concepts never leave pitch meetings, but that doesn't mean the desire to bring those passion projects to life. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier creator Malcolm Spellman has hinted at bringing an axed subplot from the star-spangled series to a book adaptation one day because of how much he loved the story.
Considering the roots of Rebel Moon extend as far back as a decade, Snyder's passion for this pitch cannot be understated. It may not exist within the franchise he intended, but it's always refreshing to see passion projects like these get the green light.
Rebel Moon currently hopes to begin production in early 2022.
