Summary

  • Director's cuts of Rebel Moon may be Snyder's last chance at redemption for the franchise.
  • Snyder's R-rated versions may fix some of the franchise's issues with character development and half-baked themes.
  • The challenge lies in releasing extended versions of Rebel Moon movies so soon after the originals.

Zack Snyder has the chance to prove spectators wrong about the reviews suggested that many rallied for a bigger, better sequel despite the premiere landing so poorly.

A sequel would have the potential to learn from the mistakes of its predecessor, and spectators hoped Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver would develop the franchise's characters more thoroughly, compensate for Rebel Moon - Part One's plot and storyline, and better represent what Snyder could bring to the table. However, once Rebel Moon - Part Two's bad reviews started flooding in after its April 2024 release, it quickly became clear that the sequel flopped worse than the first. Unfortunately, at present, Snyder now has only one shot at bringing the Rebel Moon franchise back in favor of audiences and critics.

Movie Title

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver

14%

54%

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

21%

58%

Related
Rebel Moon: Part 2 Debuts To Zack Snyder’s Worst Rotten Tomatoes Score Ever

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver has now debuted on Rotten Tomatoes, and the sci-fi sequel earns the worst score of Zack Snyder’s career.

Rebel Moon's Extended R-Rated Versions Will Reveal Zack Snyder's Full Vision

Snyder's More Immersive Rebel Moon Vision May Change The Game For The Franchise

Sofia Boutella as Kora in Rebel Moon Part Two

The director has long set intentions to release movies, which is Snyder's best path toward redemption. As their release date approaches, increasing details have unfolded to give a better idea of what Snyder's fuller vision of the franchise had been before parts of Rebel Moon - Part One and Rebel Moon - Part Two were tweaked or changed. The R-rated versions will serve as extended director's cuts, adding an hour of never-before-seen footage and more violent and sexual themes to Rebel Moon - Part One and Rebel Moon - Part Two, respectively.

Snyder's R-rated Rebel Moon movies may not temper all the criticisms of the franchise thus far, but his extended versions do have a shot at fixing some of the films' major problems. The Rebel Moon franchise's reviews have few issues with its action or world-building choices, so the director's cuts could use their extended time and R-rated capability to fully immerse themselves in better developing Rebel Moon's eclectic characters and adult-skewed themes. It would be a feat, judging by the vigor of Rebel Moon’s criticisms, but Snyder has a history of releasing superior extended versions of movies on his side.

Zack Snyder's Justice League Cut Already Sets A Great Precedent For His Extended Versions

Snyder's Justice League Cut Was Considerably Better Received Than The 2017 Theatrical Version

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Your Rating

Zack Snyder's Justice League
Release Date
March 18, 2021
Runtime
242 minutes
Director
Zack Synder

WHERE TO WATCH

Zack Snyder's Justice League is a reimagining of the 2017 film, where Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince assemble a team of metahumans, including Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg, to defend Earth from a looming cosmic threat, following Superman's previous sacrifice. Released in 2021, it continues the DC Extended Universe narrative.

Writers
Chris Terrio
Franchise(s)
DC Extended Universe
Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures, Access Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, The Stone Quarry
Distributor(s)
Max, Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget
$70 Million

Snyder was once a DCEU notability, making big movies for the media franchise - like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman - before personal tragedy caused him to step down from the near-finished production of Justice League and leave the DCEU altogether. Joss Whedon finished Justice League in his stead but could not make as much of an impact on critics and audiences as Snyder could, which was proven three years later by Snyder's higher-rated Justice League cut. Because Snyder's extended-cut magic worked so well with Justice League, his efforts may also give the Rebel Moon franchise a fighting chance.

Movie Title

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Zack Snyder's Justice League

72%

93%

Justice League

40%

67%

The Justice League debacle confirms that Snyder's vision is most effective when it's not disrupted by time, cuts, and outside intervention.

Critics and audiences preferred Snyder's extended Justice League cut by considerable margins, praising its direction and 4-hour runtime for yielding a more cohesive, compelling, and consistent story. Fundamentally, the Justice League debacle confirms that Snyder's vision is most effective when unobstructed by time, tweaks, and outside intervention. Spectators can expect Rebel Moon's R-rated director's cuts to highlight Snyder at his best and that his efforts will translate into versions that pose fewer issues.

Snyder offers extended versions of many of his movies, such as Watchman, Sucker Punch, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Dawn of the Dead.

Rebel Moon's Extended Version Release Faces A Bigger Challenge Than Zack Snyder's Justice League

Rebel Moon's Extended Version Release Is Way Too Soon

Sofia Boutella as Kora standing in front of rebel crowd in Rebel Moon Part Two

While Snyder had a successful break with his Justice League cut, the extended version of the Rebel Moon movies will face a considerable challenge being released so soon after the originals. Zack Snyder's Justice League was released four years after the theatrical version, giving audiences ample time to mull over the downfalls of the original to better assess how the extended version could make improvements. According to Snyder's recent release date announcement, the gap between the original and R-rated Rebel Moon versions will be considerably shorter.

Snyder revealed that the Rebel Moon extended movies could be released as early as this summer. With mere months given to spectators to rewatch Rebel Moon - Part One and sit with the new Rebel Moon - Part Two, the extended versions, at a total six-hour runtime, may be hard to observe right off the bat of the originals. Seeing as Snyder aims to proceed with haste, the Rebel Moon extended movies will have to be fantastic enough to hold the attention of spectators, or else the franchise will be left to rely on a Rebel Moon 3 to redeem it.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes

Rebel Moon Franchise Temp Poster
Cast
Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Anthony Hopkins
Created by
Zack Snyder
First Film
Rebel Moon
Movie(s)
Rebel Moon, Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver
Character(s)
Kora (Rebel Moon), General Titus, Kai (Rebel Moon), Tarak, Darrian Bloodaxe, Devra Bloodaxe, Nemesis (Rebel Moon)

Rebel Moon is a multi-media franchise created by Zack Snyder that begins with the first film, Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, released in 2023. The franchise follows a woman named Kora, who once worked for an authoritarian regime that now dominates the universe. To atone for the crimes she was complicit in, Kora heads across the galaxy to gather a team to fight back and free their worlds.