Stop me if you have heard this one before. Visionary filmmaker Zack Snyder has a new movie coming out. But word already is circulating that an alternate cut of the movie exists, and in the words of the filmmaker, it offers “almost like a different movie, it’s almost a different universe.” The director has done this for basically all of his movies, be it the preferred director’s cut of Watchmen, to the perpetual saga that surrounded the Snyder Cut of Justice League. We are getting Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire on Netflix after the movie received a limited (very, very limited) theatrical run. But why isn’t the initial version of the movie Snyder’s preferred cut?
While doing press on behalf of Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder opened up about having a PG-13 version of the movie, and an R-rated cut of the story. He says that it has been a collaboration with Netflix to make “a very commercial version” that’s available for theaters. This usually means a close-to-two-hour run time, and softer approaches to sex and violence. Earlier this year, while visiting the Los Angeles set of Rebel Moon, I learned how Star Wars influenced this story, but also, that this was going to be the harder, R-rated take on a story set in a galaxy far, far away. Rebel Moon baddie Ed Skrein literally promised us a movie that delivered Star Wars with tons of sex and violence.
Maybe that’s in the director’s cut. Because the version I managed to see ahead of the Netflix drop doesn’t have that. And it’s not very commercial. And in hindsight, Netflix didn’t blast this movie into 1,000 theaters to attract as many big-screen eyeballs as possible. So, what the hell is going on here? These are just a few of the questions I have about this Rebel Moon situation, starting with:
Why did Zack Snyder agree to this?
Outside of maybe Sir Ridley Scott, I can’t think of another director who has had such memorable and public spats with studios regarding his director’s cut of a movie. Snyder routinely seems to have compromised his vision on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Sucker Punch, Watchmen, and Justice League because of factors that usually lead back to studio interference. And in almost every case, Snyder has prevailed with his eventual “true” vision. And it’s virtually always an improvement, and the version of the movie that I wish people got to see the first time out… thereby avoiding waves of negative reactions and critical blowback.
It appears, in the case of Rebel Moon, that Zack Snyder agreed to release a PG-13 version of the movie, so long as he was also able to release his full version later. But, as was well reported, this trimmed down version of the movie did poorly with critics, posting an initial 9% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes before climbing to its current (but still abysmal) 24%. Is the Director’s Cut going to make that many improvements to this version of the story? If the Director’s Cut is that much better why aren’t we seeing it first. Or, at the very least, why can’t we see it at the same time?
Why aren’t both cuts arriving at the same time?
Fine, I’ll agree to understand the idea that making a PG-13 portal into this world makes business sense. R-rated movies face restrictions on the audience, and more ages can see a PG-13 movie. (Even though, on the surface, Netflix isn’t doing much to help people see this watered-down version, but more on that in a moment.)
But then why aren’t both the PG-13 version and the longer, theoretically R-rated cut that Snyder claims feels like “a different movie” available at the exact same time, from which fans can choose. See it as a Red Pill / Blue Pill scenario. Want to learn a bit about Rebel Moon and enjoy a fast-moving sci-fi adventure without all the frills? Press play on the two-hour version. Want to lose yourself in the full madness that is Zack Snyder, drinking in all of the mythological details that he’s amassed over decades of thinking about this story? Here’s a completely different director’s cut, which comes from “a different universe” and accurately depicts the story that Snyder wanted to tell from the jump.
Netflix has the capacity to do just that. A theater chain can’t offer two different versions of the same movie without inviting logistical headaches. But a streaming service? Seems relatively easy. Is the director’s cut or Rebel Moon unfinished? And when do we think we are going to get it? Right now, there’s real confusion on social media about when the director’s vision for Rebel Moon will be seeing the light of day.
OK. Genuinely confused about #RebelMoon on @netflix If this isn't the Director's cut coming out Thursday, then who cut it? Will the Director's cut be available at some point?December 20, 2023
Why did Netflix hide its commercial version on only four screens?
It’s called show business. Studios, and even streamers like Netflix, are in the game to make money. Based on what we know, Zack Snyder agreed to give Netflix a commercial cut of Rebel Moon, so long as they also agreed to let him eventually release his harder, edgier version of the movie, to appeal to his die-hard fans.
So, the market got saturated with the PG-13 version of Rebel Moon, giving everyone the chance to see it, right?
Nope. Based on what I am able to tell, Rebel Moon screened in four locations, each able to show the movie in the rare 70mm IMAX format. Timothee Chalamet’s Wonka, in comparison, opened in 4,203 theaters on its debut weekend. That’s a traditional wide release. Even when Netflix puts a movie into theatrical distribution, it goes wider than four screens. (Though, finding a concrete number of screens for, say, David Fincher’s The Killer is proving difficult.)
Until Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom opened, this holiday season has been missing out on a blockbuster. Denis Villeneuve had Dune 2 moved to 2024. Wonka filled a void. But how much better could a PG-13 version of Rebel Moon had done if it got a proper release. I mean, that’s the point of delivering a commercial version of the movie, right? To get it out before a larger market, right?
Larger than four screens, anyway.
