Zack Snyder To Direct ‘Rebel Moon’ For Netflix; A Reworked Version Of His ‘Seven Samurai’ Inspired ‘Star Wars’ Film

Director Zack Snyder is truly moving from the DCEU as there is a report of his next feature film that will see him stick with the streaming giant, Netflix, after working with them on the hit zombie actioner “Army of The Dead.”  

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We finally have some official word about Snyder’s next big project, and it will see the filmmaker turn his attention back to science fiction with the Netflix film “Rebel Moon.” The news coming from The Hollywood Reporter adds that the project will be directly inspired by things like “Star Wars” and the films of legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. A script is being co-written by Snyder, Shay Hatten, and Kurt Johnstad.

The outlet describes “Rebel Moon” as “a story is set in motion when a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. Desperate people dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighboring planets to help them make a stand.”

READ MORE: Zack Snyder Says His Kurosawa-Influenced ‘Star Wars’ Idea Has Morphed Into A Separate “Sci-Fi Thing”

This project sounds a lot like that “Seven Samurai” Jedi movie he pitched to Lucasfilm in 2012, during the early days of Disney‘s new ownership of the franchise. The studio was trying to figure out what to do with the “Star Wars” universe, opening their office doors to allow people like Zack Snyder to pitch ideas before they settled on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

He teased back in May that his “Star Wars” idea morphed into something else, and I guess that will be “Rebel Moon.”

Kurosawa’s “The Hidden Fortress” was the main narrative/creative inspiration to George Lucas‘ original “Star Wars” installment. So looking towards something like “Seven Samurai” is so smart that one episode of “The Mandalorian” Season 1 borrowed from it. 

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Hopefully, this could mean that Zack Snyder might find a new creative home at Netflix and focus on his own material instead of pushing the DCEU forward or other studio franchises other than his own. It’ll be interesting to see if Snyder will ultimately sign a first-look deal with the streamer since he’s working with them back-to-back here.