Before either of his Rebel Moon films had been released, Zack Snyder was up-front about his plans to release entirely different cuts of his sci-fi saga. The two-part galactic epic – largely inspired by Seven Samurai – was released on Netflix first with Part One: A Child Of Fire in December, and then with Part Two: The Scargiver in April. But those were the 12A-rated family-friendly cuts, telling Snyder’s story in a way that was suitable for a wider age range. From the offset, though, the filmmaker was clear about his intentions: a Director’s Cut of the entire experience would be coming too, with significantly longer runtimes, and much more hard-edged material in the mix. Now, we have more information about what that involves.
As confirmed by Snyder himself, the Rebel Moon Director’s Cut will be streaming from 2 August, both parts of which are set to release on the same day. And those new versions will come with slightly different names. The Director’s Cut titles are now ‘chapters’ rather than ‘parts’, going by Chapter One: Chalice Of Blood, and Chapter Two: Curse Of Forgiveness. Both of those new names hint towards that darker tone (‘Blood’! ‘Curse’!), though the changes they contain and the runtimes they now clock in at are yet to be announced.
Here’s the official synopsis for the new-fangled iterations: “Delve further into the mythology and madness of Zack Snyder’s epic sci-fi saga in the viciously sexier, bloodier world of Rebel Moon — Chapter One: Chalice Of Blood and Rebel Moon – Chapter Two: Curse Of Forgiveness. In Snyder’s director’s cut, a peaceful settlement on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, and Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Motherworld, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants, and orphans of war who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a new army of heroes is formed.”
And there are fresh images to take a peek at here:
How the Director’s Cut of Rebel Moon is received remains to be seen. The regular editions received a tricky critical reception, though Snyder’s extended editions of Watchmen, Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and particularly his ‘Snyder Cut’ of Justice League are widely regarded as superior to the theatrical versions. Maybe come 2 August we’ll all owe him an apologetic curse of forgiveness; in the meantime, we’re off to enjoy a nice warm chalice of blood.