Much has been said about Star Wars’ enormous influence on Rebel Moon. Zack Snyder’s latest big-budget feature, his second for Netflix, was first offered to Lucasfilm before Disney’s takeover of the entertainment firm in 2012 snuffed out the popular director’s dream of establishing his own film trilogy in that renowned galaxy far, far away.
Unfazed by a setback that would have disappointed many other filmmakers, Snyder turned his failed concept into Rebel Moon, an epic spacefaring team-up film that will generate a broad, multimedia series Netflix can call its own. Indeed, with plans for various spin-offs including an animated show, comic book series, and narrative podcast, the world’s best streaming service is fully behind Snyder’s brand-new project new IP, which might be the big sci-fi fantasy saga Netflix has been seeking.
Snyder, an avid consumer of entertainment-based media, is keen to emphasize that Rebel Moon is more than just Netflix’s take on Star Wars. When I interviewed Snyder at the UK junket for Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire, which will be released exclusively on Netflix on Thursday, December 21 in the United States (December 22 in the United Kingdom and Australia), the multi-talented creative emphasized Rebel Moon’s western and fantasy influences as much as – if not more than – its sci-fi roots.
So, according to the filmmaker himself, here are four unexpected and/or great movie ideas that shaped one of 2023’s most anticipated new Netflix movies.
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
With elements of swordplay and magic, it’s no wonder that Rebel Moon drew narrative and visual inspiration from 1982’s Conan the Barbarian. This epic fantasy film, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the main character, sees Conan embark on a journey for vengeance after Thulsa Doom (played, ironically, by Star Wars hero James Earl Jones) and his snake cult raiders murdered Conan’s parents when he was a youngster.
Hollywood legend John Milius co-wrote and directed Conan the Barbarian, as did Snyder on many of his films, while Ron Cobb’s production design work – another Star Wars alumnus who also contributed concept art for Alien, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future, among other films – was also a key inspiration for Rebel Moon’s design.
“I’m a big John Milius and Ron Cobb fan,” Snyder said. “I love Ron as a production designer and his design work in Conan had a big impact on this one.”
Given the award-winning talent associated with Conan the Barbarian, perhaps we should consider including it on our list of the top Disney Plus movies.
Excalibur (1981)
The 1981 epic medieval fantasy film directed by John Boorman, which recreated the traditional Arthurian legend for the umpteenth time, helped launch the careers of actors such as Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, and Ciarán Hinds. It also left an indelible mark on the impressionable 15-year-old Snyder at the time – and, more than 40 years later, it played a major role in defining a key part of the Rebel Moon universe’s lore, particularly when it comes to the humanoid character Jimmy (voiced by Anthony Hopkins) and his namesakes.
“Excalibur is a big influence on all my movies,” Snyder explained. “But on this one especially, with the Jimmy soldiers themselves and what they represent – you know, this knight [of the roundtable] concept that they’re dedicated to their quest, which is an idea I really like.”
Heavy Metal (1981)
Heavy Metal’s 1981 film adaptation, based on the popular dark-fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, and erotica magazine series of the same name (which also heavily inspired Netflix’s Love, Death & Robots animated anthology TV show), was as influential as any other form of media for Snyder’s fledgling concept for Rebel Moon – Snyder has previously revealed that he first conceived the idea for a fantasy sci-fi project during his college days.
“Heavy Metal’s animated movie, not just the magazines, tonally informed Rebel Moon,” he told me. “It’s this really strange thing that gave off a completely different, strange feeling than films of the time.” Looking at it now, it has an almost impossible retro vibe to it.
“I’ve actually just finished a poster for Rebel Moon’s 70mm projection [for its limited theatrical run from December 15 to 21] that’s inspired by Heavy Metal and makes you wonder, ‘Where did this movie [Rebel Moon] come from?” “What exactly is this?” When you find yourself referring to something you designed on the side, you know you’ve done your job of world building, even if it’s strangely self-referential or like an ouroboros, where the snake eats its own tail.”
The Fifth Element(1997)
Okay, Snyder didn’t explicitly reference The Fifth Element. However, he acknowledged that the work of French artist-writer Moebius – real name Jean Giraud – who was co-production designer on the sci-fi film starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman had a significant influence on Rebel Moon’s visual, style, and attitude.
Between 1979 and 2004, the late artist created concept art for films such as Alien (available on Hulu in the United States and Disney Plus internationally), Tron (Disney Plus worldwide), and Masters of the Universe (Prime Video in the United States and Australia, Amazon Freevee in the United Kingdom), among others.
“Beyond the movies I’ve mentioned, a lot of inspiration came from Moebius and Richard Calder’s ‘Frenzetta’,” Snyder said in a statement. “Like Heavy Metal, they’re tonally similar to what you’ll see and feel with Rebel Moon and, again, have this kind of bizarro flavor.
“Snyder was clearly inspired by the French illustrator’s outstanding sci-fi, fantasy, and western illustrations when it came to creating Rebel Moon’s unique appearance. So, while other great films like The Magnificent Seven and epic sci-fi like Star Wars and Dune impacted portions of Rebel Moon’s cosmos, Giraud’s influence cannot be underestimated.
