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Following his divisive run in the now-concluded DCEU,Zack Snydermade the jump to Netflix and launched two new film franchises:Army of the Dead, and most recently,Rebel Moon. The latter gave him a creative sandbox of intergalactic proportions to play around with.Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Firewas released back in December 2023, and its follow-up,Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, arrived in April 2024.So, what are they about?The two-part introduction to theRebel Moonuniverse follows Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former soldier for the imperialistic Motherworld empire, who is now living a peaceful life as a farmer. When her new home, a farming colony on the moon of Veldt, is attacked, Kora must travel across the galaxy to recruit a team of warriors to help defend it from the Motherworld’s army.
Prior to bothRebel Moonfilms being released on Netflix,Snyder teased that vastly different director’s cut versions were also coming. Despite the films receiving mixed reviews from audiences and critics, these director’s cut versions are still on the way and will ultimately be released very soon. Keep reading below to find out when and where you can watch them, as well as how they’re different from the original versions.
Rebel Moon
When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, a mysterious stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival.
Will Parts 1 and 2 of the ‘Rebel Moon’ Director’s Cut Release on the Same Day?
WhileRebel MoonParts 1 and 2 were released four months apart, Netflix is not following the same strategy for the director’s cut versions.Instead, they will both be released on the same dayand arecurrently scheduled to drop on Friday, June 01, 2025. Additionally, the director’s cut versions will also receive new titles to further distinguish them from the originals. These new titles areRebel Moon – Chapter One: Chalice of BloodandRebel Moon – Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness.
How Long Are the ‘Rebel Moon’ Director’s Cuts?
It has been confirmed by Zack Snyder that the director’s cut of bothRebel Moonfilmswill have significantly longer runtimes than the original versions. As it currently stands, Part 1 is 134 minutes and Part 2 is 122 minutes long, respectively. Comparatively, Snyder has revealed thateach film will now be roughly an hour longer, bringing their combined runtime to around six hours in length. The exact runtimes for the director’s cuts have yet to be confirmed. However,via ScreenRant, the rumored extended runtime forChapter One is 201 minutes, whileChapter Two is 170 minutes. Keep an eye on this space for official updates as we get closer to their August 2 release date.
Will the ‘Rebel Moon’ Director’s Cuts Be Rated R?
Unlike the original PG-13 versions,the director’s cut versions of bothRebel Moonfilms willembrace a hard R rating. These new versions will incorporate both alternate scenes and previously unseen footage to justify the more adult-oriented rating.
Per the official MPA rating,Part One is rated R for brutal bloody violence and gore, sexual content, graphic nudity and language.
The MPA rating for Part Two is slightly different and israted R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, strong sexuality, nudity, and some language.
How Different Will the ‘Rebel Moon’ Director’s Cuts Be?
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zack Snyder discussed the significant differences between both versions ofRebel Moon:
“Tonally, they’re completely different. They’re each an hour longer. They’re three hours each, and there are tons of scenes that aren’t in the initial versions. We went so far into the weeds with it to the point that even within the body of the movie, a line that was the same in PG-13 as it is in R might be a different take of the same line. Emotionally, it’s more like a parallel universe than an extended version. Things happen that in the R-rated version that don’t happen in the PG-13. The event order is all different, so it’s really an interesting exercise.”
From this explanation, it’s fair to say that fans ofRebel Moonwill be treated toa wild new experience when the director’s cuts are released. Considering the extended runtimes alone, there is already another feature film worth of new scenes that were cut from the original versions. Additionally, by shifting gears from PG-13 to R, many familiar scenes will likely be greatly altered too, especially the action sequences. In the same interview,Freddy Boucigues, the stunt coordinator on both films, explained how violence and other graphic content had to be toned down to meet the PG-13 rating. However, he also noted that “with the director’s cut, people are going to get the unhinged, absolute best version that we did.”
Who Is Starring in the ‘Rebel Moon’ Director’s Cuts?
Despite the extreme differences between both versions ofRebel Moon, the director’s cuts will still featurethe same impressive ensemble cast. If anything, the new scenes could introduce some surprising new characters and castings, but nothing of that nature has been confirmed. Yet…
For now, though, the main cast in both films includes Sofia Boutella as Kora,Djimon Hounsouas Titus,Ed Skreinas Atticus Noble,Michiel Huismanas Gunnar,Doona Baeas Nemesis,Ray Fisheras Darrian Bloodaxe,Cleopatra Colemanas Devra Bloodaxe,Charlie Hunnamas Kai,Staz Nairas Tarak,Fra Feeas Balisarius,Cary Elwesas the King,Anthony Hopkinsas the voice of Jimmy and many more.
Will There Ever Be a ‘Rebel Moon 3’?
A third installment in theRebel Moonseries has not been green-lit yet. However, there are some telltale signs that it may be in the works fairly soon. Firstly, the ending of Part 2 certainly sets the stage for further adventures. While Kora and her band of warriors have defeated part of the Motherworld’s army on Veldt, the rest of the empire still looms large across the galaxy and needs to be stopped. On a more personal level, Kora too learns that Princess Issa is secretly still alive and hiding from the Motherworld. She and the surviving team members vow to find the princess and restore her position on the throne, hopefully deposing the tyrannical Balisarius in the process.
Secondly, Zack Snyder and his fellow co-writers (Kurt JohnstadandShay Hatten) havealready started planning for future films. In April 2024, Johnstad announced that the trio hadoriginally mapped out a trilogy ofRebel Moonfilms, but this expanded to six when they considered splitting each story into two parts. Johnstad also confirmed that treatments for the third and fourth films were completed, with Snyder currently writing a script for the third film.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is the Netflix viewership numbers. In its first three days alone on the streaming service last year,Rebel MoonPart 1scored nearly 24 million views. In a similar three-day time frame back in April, Part 2 saw a slight decline in viewership,reaching around 21.4 million views. Both parts ultimately became the top-viewed films on Netflix during their debut weeks, but is this enough for the streaming service to green-light a third film? Only time will tell what comes of Snyder and his writing partners’ ambitious plans for theRebel Moonuniverse.
