In the early 1980s, one of the first responses to Star Wars was a legion of low-budget imitators, including the Roger Corman-produced film Battle Beyond the Stars. Director Zack Snyder has made no secret of the fact that Rebel Moon was originally his pitch for a Star Wars movie before Disney purchased Lucasfilm. And the early story elements from this film also seemed to lift some of the plot from Battle Beyond the Stars. But now that the first teaser trailer for the flick has arrived, it’s showing even more Star Wars influence than we expected, including a look at glowing blue and red swords that shamelessly resemble lightsabers.
Going from the trailer alone, it would be very difficult to decipher what this movie is going to be about. Fortunately, Netflix has already revealed the general plot for the film. Essentially, it takes place in a universe that is under the control of the Imperium. On the outskirts of the empire is a moon called Veldt, which hasn’t been directly under Imperium control … until now. Once the enemy forces arrive, a woman named Kora (Sofia Boutella) takes it upon herself to defend her adoptive home world. But first, she needs to find warriors who are willing to fight alongside her.
Although the trailer doesn’t make this clear, the narrator at the beginning is a robot knight known as Jimmy (Anthony Hopkins), and he is one of Kora’s recruits. Djimon Hounsou’s General Titus is another warrior who follows Kora’s cause despite the fact that they were both members of the Imperium in the past. Some of the other members of the Magnificent Seven-like team include a pilot named Kai (Charlie Hunnam), Tarak the blacksmith (Staz Nair), the cyborg known as Nemesis (Doona Bae), the brother and sister pair of Darrian (Ray Fisher) and Devra Bloodaxe (Cleopatra Coleman), a spider warrior named Harmada (Jena Malone), and a refugee called Millus (E. Duffy). Kora’s friend, Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), will also join the fight, and there may be some nominative determinism with his name.
Fra Fee co-stars as Regent Balisarius, the leader of the Imperium, with Ed Skrein as her top enforcer, Admiral Atticus Noble. The rest of the cast includes Stuart Martin, Corey Stoll, Cary Elwes, Alfonso Herrera, Rhian Rees, and Ray Porter.
Snyder helmed the film from a script he co-wrote with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten. Netflix is also splitting the movie in two, with Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire arriving on December 22, and the sequel, Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver, arriving on April 19, 2024.
