Zack Snyder's new movie on Netflix, Rebel Moon, has received a rating confirmation that indicates its exploration of mature themes.
Rebel Moon explores the story of a lone female warrior as she tries to recruit powerful warriors from across the galaxy to fight back against a corrupt government and its dangerous army.
Snyder's new movie is split into two parts, with the first being titled Rebel Moon -Part One: A Child of Fire and the second Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver.
Rebel Moon's Rating Confirms Mature Themes
According to Film Ratings, Rebel Moon was listed with a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Aside from featuring usual sequences of "strong violence," the rating description confirmed that Zack Snyder's next movie will include mature themes, such as "sexual assault" and "partial nudity:"
"Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, sexual assault, bloody images, language, sexual material and partial nudity."
This rating and themes were previously teased by Rebel Moon audio mixer Andy Koyama, who told Slash Film in March 2023 that the two movies will have "extended R-rated versions:"
"We just did the first temp mix for the preview of part one, and it's very exciting. It's a big, huge, space — they probably don't want me to say this — 'Star Wars'-y, 'rebels against the evil empire' thing over all sorts of different worlds. It's really fun. There's going to be two films. I think we're mixing that from June to February. And there's also going to be extended R-rated versions of each of the two films, so we're going to be mixing four different features."
While speaking with Netflix's Tudum in August 2023, Snyder also teased what to expect in the upcoming R-rated extended cut of Rebel Moon, teasing that it is a "legitimate extended universe version:"
“The director’s cut is close to an hour of extra content, so I think it’s a legitimate extended universe version. You really get to see a lot. It’s just more painted-in all the way. The director’s [cut] is a settle-in deep dive, which I have notoriously done throughout my career."
Rebel Moon's Mature Themes Might Push PG-13 Limits
While Rebel Moon's PG-13 rating still includes mature themes, this suggests that the main version of the movie will try to push the limits of its intended age rating.
Exploring aspects such as "sexual assault" and "partial nudity" in its PG-13 cut proves that director Zack Snyder is still leaning toward including them to not restrict his vision despite the movie's official age rating.
Interestingly, the inclusion of partial nudity and strong language has been a common instance in past action-superhero movies.
In The Flash, partial nudity was included in its PG-13 rating description after a brief sequence of an undressed Barry Allen was shown.
Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 made MCU history by including the franchise's first uncensored f-word in one of its sequences.
It's possible that brief instances of nudity and sexual themes will be shown in Rebel Moon's PG-13 cut before a full-blown showcase will be featured in its confirmed R-rated version.
Hopefully, the sequences that involve mature themes exist as part of the overall narrative, resulting in a stronger film.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is set to premiere on Netflix on December 22.
