Zack Snyder’s time with DC may be a thing of the past. However, he continues to work on epic franchises, with his original creation, Rebel Moon, having seen the release of two movies already. The talented director has every intention of converting Rebel Moon into a space opera franchise, much like the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek.
However, what sets his franchise apart is the fact that despite the two movies not getting an R-rating, they have received respective Snyder cuts that are full of gore, violence, and everything else one can expect from an R-rated franchise. Regardless, as it turns out, the talented director had to undergo a fair share of negotiations to make his Snyder cuts a reality.
He revealed that it was a barter between him and Netflix, that allowed the two movies thus far, to have both a PG-13 version and an R-rated Zack Snyder version.
Zack Snyder reveals the negotiations he underwent to make R-rated Rebel Moon a reality
In an interview with ReelBlend Podcast, Zack Snyder discussed the reasoning behind the director’s cut and how it came to be. He explained that Netflix, although not burdened by box office concerns, sought a version of the movie that would appeal to a broader audience. This led to the development of a more commercially viable PG-13 version with a runtime of around two hours.
Well, there was a conversation around the rating and the runtime where they felt like we could make a slightly more commercial version of this movie if we kept the rating to PG-13 and the runtime to right around two hours.
However, this commercial cut wasn’t the movie Snyder had initially envisioned. Known for his darker, more mature themes, Snyder had written Rebel Moon as an R-rated film. The negotiations with Netflix resulted in a compromise. While the streaming platform would get its PG-13 version, Snyder would also be able to release his original R-rated director’s cut:
So that was like a conversation that we just felt like based on their data that would be more viewable. And so I was like okay, so that was part of the negotiation. I had written definitely an R-rated movie and so it was a conversation, like “hey if we say yes, is there a way is a PG-13 version of this movie (could happen), and I was like absolutely!
Despite the compromises made for commercial viability, Snyder’s creative vision for Rebel Moon remains largely intact. The director meticulously planned the different cuts, ensuring that the PG-13 versions met Netflix’s requirements while the R-rated cuts retained the depth and intensity of his original script.
Zack Snyder is no stranger to having multiple versions of his movies
The director’s cut of the two movies allowed Snyder to maintain an in-depth exploration of the narrative and characters, elements that had to be trimmed in the PG-13 version. Snyder communicated with his cast about the different cuts, ensuring that they understood what would be included in each version. The R-rated cut promises to stay true to Snyder’s established storytelling style, offering fans a closer look at his original vision.
Of course, the approach is not new for the director, who has previously released lauded directorial cuts of movies such as Justice League, Watchmen, and now Parts 1 and 2 of Rebel Moon.
And while his latest two movies have not performed as well as he would have hoped, the director’s cuts did improve the overall experience, and resulted in a darker, gorier narrative, the kind of which Snyder’s fans are more accustomed to.
All versions of the two Rebel Moon movies are available to be streamed on Netflix.
