A director’s cut has long been announced alongside the current Rebel Moon version. How can it be that Netflix is throwing such a clumsy version at us again after the Snyder cut?
After the studio debacle surrounding the four-hour version of Justice League, Zack Snyder is now raving about the collaboration with Netflix. Here, he can let off steam like on a huge adventure playground and has more creative freedom. With Rebel Moon – Part 1: Child of Fire, the director has now laid the foundations for a new franchise, which in the best-case scenario will grow into a huge sci-fi universe.
However, a version of Rebel Moon has been released on Netflix, which is obviously an abridged version. A director’s cut is to be released later, which could be four hours long again. I can’t believe Netflix is repeating the Snyder cut debacle
Rebel Moon is reminiscent of the botched Justice League movie version
The current Rebel Moon version feels like an overlong introduction, and not just because the story is split into two films. In addition to the knowledge that the sequel, which will be released in April 2024, could round off or upgrade its predecessor, Rebel Moon Part 1 also comes across as a lovelessly cut-together economy version.
Read on to find out more: Zack Snyder likes Rebel Moon 2 better than Part 1 – and the reason is the biggest problem with the sci-fi spectacle on Netflix
The fact that violence is removed for a more mass-appeal FSK 12 version and blood is practically nowhere to be seen is nothing new in movie adaptations. However, why a streaming service with a subscription system first has a tamer version made and withholds a harder version in the form of a (not even firmly announced) director’s cut is simply incomprehensible.
The Rebel Moon cut, which is currently available to stream, is reminiscent of the sloppy Justice League cinema version, which was ironed out with inappropriate humor inserts and less violence. Due to the Joss Whedon reshoots and massive interventions in Snyder’s plans, the film ended up having little in common with Snyder’s original vision.
Here you can watch a behind-the-scenes video of Rebel Moon:
It pisses me off that Netflix is repeating the Snyder cut mess
By now it’s no longer a secret that the director’s cut of Rebel Moon promises a completely different viewing experience, just like the Snyder cut of Justice League. According to Comic Book Movie, Snyder himself has said of the alternative version of the sci-fi blockbuster:
Much more brutal. More bizarre. Verhoeven-esque. More RoboCop than you think… in the way it uses violence as a different character. And there’s a lot of sex in it.
The director also teased that the R-rated version is meant to be like another movie that exists in a different universe than the current Netflix version. So there’s a lot to suggest that Netflix has brought fans of the filmmaker a new Snyder cut mess that many may not even know about.
Read it yet? The hidden meaning of the Rebel Moon villains: sci-fi maker explains the red horror characters
This leaves me angry and with questions in my head:
Why didn’t Netflix release an overlong version right away, similar to Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, to match Snyder’s original ideas?
Why are fans of the director, who have been clamoring for the director’s cut of another Snyder film, once again being treated to an unfinished, cut-up compromise?
And why is Snyder already allowed to promote the probably heavily altered Rebel Moon director’s cut when not even the (probably also messed up) FSK 12 version of Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scarmaker has been released?
Why did Snyder approve this?
