Summary

• Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon shares similarities with Star Wars due to similar inspirations and storytelling approaches, not because Snyder is copying Star Wars.
• Rebel Moon began as an original concept by Snyder, drawing inspiration from multiple sci-fi/fantasy stories, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.
• Both Snyder and George Lucas were influenced by similar mythologies and storytelling structures, resulting in parallels between Rebel Moon and Star Wars. Additionally, both filmmakers have a history of releasing alternate cuts of their movies.

Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon - Part 1: A Child of Fire is being compared to Star Wars, and there's a lot of reasons why Snyder's new movie should remind audiences of George Lucas' space opera. Snyder's new Netflix sci-fi/fantasy movie does share some DNA with the galaxy far, far away, but the similarities are actually a result of Zack Snyder and George Lucas having similar inspirations and process, and not a result of Snyder "copying" Star Wars.

While most major modern blockbuster movies or TV series are remakes, reboots, or based on existing IP like books or comics, Rebel Moon is a wholly original property conceived by Zack Snyder. Despite being an entirely new universe, Rebel Moon takes inspiration from numerous sci-fi/fantasy stories and contains a number of familiar elements, such as its plot, where a team of warriors is assembled to protect a farming village, which is inspired by the plot of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Ultimately, the similarities between Star Wars and Rebel Moon arise because Zack Snyder and George Lucas were doing something very similar in their approach to story and mythology.

Related: Rebel Moon Ending Explained In Full, Including Every Scene That Sets Up Part Two

Rebel Moon Was Almost a Star Wars Movie

Zack Snyder almost retrofitted the story to fit Star Wars canon.

Rebel Moon began as a pitch to Snyder's film school teacher as "Dirty Dozen or Seven Samurai in space" in the late 1980s and has been through numerous stages of development in the decades since. At one point, prior to the release of Man of Steel, Snyder briefly met with Lucasfilm to discuss adapting the Rebel Moon story to fit into the Star Wars universe. The meeting happened after George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney and Kathleen Kennedy became Lucasfilm President, but before the initial sequel trilogy slate or plans for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or Solo: A Star Wars Story had been finalized.

Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder's wife and producing partner, expressed relief that 'Rebel Moon' didn't become a Star Wars movie, as it allowed Snyder more creative freedom.

The talks didn't go anywhere since Snyder's R-rated sensibilities and desire for it to be completely stand-alone within Star Wars canon didn't match with Lucasfilm's plans at the time to incorporate all the stories into the Skywalker saga. While Snyder is a big Star Wars fan, his wife and producing partner, Deborah Snyder, says she's happy Rebel Moon didn't become a Star Wars movie because it allowed Snyder more creative freedom. Eventually, Rebel Moon was officially green-lit as its own standalone universe at Netflix.

Rebel Moon Copies George Lucas, But Not Star Wars

Star Wars and Rebel Moon are inspired by similar mythology.

While Rebel Moon didn't originate as a Star Wars movie and wasn't even initially inspired by Star Wars, it does share a lot of DNA with Star Wars because Zack Snyder is following a very similar process to George Lucas when he created the space opera. Like Lucas, Snyder is heavily inspired by Joseph Campbell's works such as The Power of Myth and The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Rebel Moon also gets its basic concept from Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and Kurosawa was also a major influence of George Lucas and Star Wars, particularly the movie Hidden Fortress, which had the biggest impact on the plot of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Decades later, Star Wars is seen as a wholly original property, but at the time of its original release it was considered derivative because George Lucas blended so many of his favorite genre influences into the story, characters, and aesthetic. Lucas was strongly influenced by westerns, pulp sci-fi like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, Arthurian mythology, and more. Snyder's sensibilities overlap in a few areas, although his influences are a little darker and come from a few decades later than Lucas'.

Related: 7 Easter Eggs, Homages & Snyder-isms In Rebel Moon

While Lucas is inspired by Arthurian myth, Snyder is specifically inspired by John Boorman's Excalibur. Lucas incorporated aspects of Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Carter of Mars, while Snyder is influenced by Conan the Barbarian. Where Lucas prefers Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Snyder was shaped by the adult-illustrated fantasy magazine Heavy Metal. When the two filmmakers wrap their inspirations up in the trappings of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, Rebel Moon may rhyme with Star Wars at points, but only because Snyder shares inspiration with George Lucas, not because Star Wars itself was his sole inspiration.

Zack Snyder Is Doing George Lucas' Star Wars Special Edition Strategy In Reverse

Zack Snyder and George Lucas love releasing alternate cuts.

Zack Snyder and George Lucas are both known for releasing alternate cuts of their movies, although for every different reasons and with very different receptions. For Lucas, the Star Wars movies were embraced and loved for years before he started releasing alternate versions with minor tweaks and changes throughout resulting in some major controversy such as "Han shot first." Lucas claimed his changes merely brought the movies more in line with his original visions for Star Wars, although the insertion of new CGI VFX and changes to fan-favorite moments make the special editions one of Star Wars' biggest controversies.

Meanwhile, Zack Snyder has also released numerous alternate cuts of his own movies, although typically they're more positively received. In fact, Snyder's penchant for superior director's cuts is likely one of the most well-known things about his filmography, particularly after the massive fan campaign to "release the Snyder cut" of Justice League. Now, with Rebel Moon, Snyder is plannning his director's cuts ahead of time, shooting both a two-hour PG-13 version side-by-side with a three-hour R-rated version of the same story. While a decidedly different in many ways, it makes sense that Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon - A Child of Fire reminds a lot of people of George Lucas and Star Wars.