It’s hard to talk about Zack Snyder in 2023. Not because his work isn’t great, but because of the baggage that comes with Snyder online. Snyder himself has tried to point out the issues in his fanbase, which makes liking Snyder’s work that much more enjoyable, but it is still there. As a girl who will defend his take on Watchmen, I tend to enjoy Snyder’s work on the surface level, with some projects sticking with me better than others.
Part of the issue is that, up until recently, most of Snyder’s work was based on existing properties. Particularly comics. While I knew the source material for a lot of movies he made, I wasn’t really into the Sin City comics, and hadn’t taken a dive into the inspiration for 300 beyond basic history. Watchmen and his work with the DCEU? That I had covered. But for the most part, Snyder’s work has been inspired by comics, and—with the exception of Sucker Punch and now Rebel Moon—that’s where he shines.
Both Sucker Punch and Rebel Moon are based on original concepts from Snyder & Co., which means that you can easily become a fan of his latest film without having to worry about knowing all the lore and background context. Rebel Moon has been split into two parts, and Netflix has dropped the trailer for the first installment, Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire—and now I have to wait until December to make this my entire personality?!
Frankly, it is epic. Rebel Moon Part 1 looks and feels like the science-fiction movies that have consumed the entertainment world for decades, but is also fresh and new, and that’s amazing!
It’s me, a Rebel Moon stan
Look, I am a nerd. I love a lot of nerdy things. Sometimes, though, it can be overwhelming if you don’t know every little thing about a property. Mainly because there will always be someone online who acts like they know more than you do. Whether it be comic book movies (which have decades of material), Star Wars, or Star Trek, there have been so many movies, shows, and spinoffs that it can just feel like a lot.
What’s exciting about Rebel Moon is that the fear of not knowing everything is gone! It’s new and fresh and we can all go on this journey together. Frankly, there’s been a lack of new original properties like this, and while Rebel Moon is based on Snyder’s past concept for a Star Wars movie, it’s still exciting to see something different on the same level. It’s like Dune, but you don’t have to read nearly 900 pages to get it. It’s Foundation, minus an entire series of novels. Getting to dive in as a collective is honestly going to be really fun and I can’t wait to see what Rebel Moon (and its sequel) has in store for us.
(featured image: Netflix)
