Summary
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Rebel Moon
franchise to expand with a unique split-trilogy format for more immersive storytelling, according to co-writer Kurt Johnstad. - Writing team already prepared for six films, with ongoing scripting for future installments.
- Zack Snyder’s clear vision and pre-planning are driving the safe and efficient development process.
Zack Snyder, along with co-writer Kurt Johnstad, plans to broaden the scope of the Rebel Moon franchise to encompass a total of six films. This split-trilogy format deviates from traditional trilogy structures, where each installment will consist of two parts.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Johnstad discussed the creative process behind the franchise’s expansion. The team has meticulously planned out the story to extend well beyond the initial trilogy, with treatments ready for the fourth and fifth films and preliminary scripting already underway for the third.
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So, basically, we have everything mapped out for many, many movies. Beyond Three. Beyond four.
I will go on the record now. We’ve figured this out all the way to movie six. Now, if we are so lucky and fortunate enough to continue telling these stories, that is our hope.
Netflix is interested, and we’re waiting to see how these first movies go. But there is certainly a treatment for three and four. We’ve laid out very detailed… All we have to do is start writing. Actually, Zack has already started writing because he’s like that. I think he’s already written the first thirty pages of movie three. So once we get the green light to start writing, if that happens, it’ll happen fairly quickly because Shay (Hatten), Zack, and I are pretty fast. And we’ve done all the work. It’s not like, “Well, what about this.” We know exactly what we need to do.”
According to Johnstad, the expansive storyline was partly necessitated by the sheer volume of the original script. The first film alone initially spanned over 200 pages, prompting a substantial reduction to streamline the narrative without sacrificing the richness of the character development. The decision to split the movies into two parts each came from a need to do justice to the story and characters without overwhelming the audience or diluting the narrative’s impact.
“This was always going to be a trilogy, and this is well-known; we’ve talked about this in the press already.
When we delivered the first movie, it was two hundred-plus pages. So we were like, “Oh my god.” Then we tried cutting it back to one thirty-five, I think, and we started cutting all of the cool character stuff, and Zack’s like, we need to go back.
How do we do this? And then, again, this has been written about before, but then collectively, we said right around here in the 90th (page) if we wrote a cliffhanger, which in movie one is the Gondival scene, if we wrote that then we could break this into two parts.”
The strategic restructuring into a split-trilogy is a logistical choice. It allows for a more thorough exploration of the universe Snyder and his team have envisioned, providing a more immersive experience for the viewers. The adaptation process has been smooth, with the writing team, including Snyder, Johnstad, and Shay Hatten, moving quickly due to their extensive pre-planning and clear vision for the franchise’s direction.
“So when I say six movies, it’s really a trilogy with each movie being two parts. That’s how we’re thinking of it now. But, again, a lot of things have to happen. Our ambition and what we want to give the fans don’t always match up with the reality of the world’s economy. But that’s what we want to do. We want to give fans six movies or a trilogy in two parts each.”
How Zack Snyder’s 4 Favorite Films Reflect His Directorial Style
In a 2023 interview with Letterboxd, Zack Snyder listed Star Wars, Blue Velvet, All That Jazz, and Excalibur as his four favorite films.
Rebel Moon Part Two Hits a New Low in Snyder’s Filmography
Meanwhile, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver has encountered turbulent skies. This latest chapter has notably achieved an undesirable milestone, securing its place as Snyder’s lowest-rated film to date on Rotten Tomatoes. This downturn reflects a broader trend of mixed receptions from critics towards Snyder’s recent directorial efforts.
Critics have been quick to point out that while the film delivers an array of visually captivating sequences, it falls into familiar pitfalls associated with Snyder’s work: a heavy reliance on aesthetic grandeur over substantive narrative depth. MovieWeb’s review of the film, acknowledged the performance of Djimon Hounsou as a highlight, yet labeled the film as “predictable and derivative.”
“Rebel Moon – Part Two” picks up the narrative thread from its predecessor, yet intensifies the stakes and scope of its galactic conflict. Originally conceived as a potential Star Wars spin-off, the project was reborn under Netflix’s banner, allowing Snyder to unleash his creative vision unfettered by the constraints of an established universe. However, the ambition of the concept has not translated into critical success.
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver
2.5/5
- Release Date
- April 19, 2024
- Runtime
- 122 Minutes
- Studio(s)
- Grand Electric , The Stone Quarry
- Distributor(s)
- Netflix
- Franchise(s)
- Rebel Moon
