I n a roundabout way, you could say Rebel Moon was Zack Snyder's first film. Yes, it's about to release, in two parts, some 20 years into Snyder's feature filmmaking
career. But Snyder first had the idea for Rebel Moon almost four decades ago, when Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen and the DCEU were distant dreams. And it hasn't been far from his thoughts ever since.
‘It came from a pitch class I had at college,’ the director recalls over Zoom from his home office, where Total Film eyes Snyder-related paraphernalia dotted around the room, including a pile of books with King Leonidas’ helmet perched on top. ‘I said it was like a cross between The Dirty Dozen and The Magnificent Seven set in space. Part of the conversation was: “Why would Hollywood say no to your idea?” And no one could think of a reason. It always stuck in my mind.’
Over the years, Snyder would mention the elevator pitch to close collaborators, like Kurt Johnstad, co-writer of and , who remembers a conversation the pair had on a flight from Cape Town to London in 1997. ‘He said, “Wouldn't it be cool, one day, if we could do a in outer space?”’ At one point the project even had a working. Then around 2012, during post-production on , Snyder took his -meets-Star Wars concept to a logical destination: Lucasfilm itself.
