Rebel Moon: Zack Snyder Activated Sofia Boutella's Skills On Set With This Phrase

It's no secret that "Rebel Moon" is basically director Zack Snyder's take on "Star Wars." But any good epic space opera needs a stellar protagonist for the audience to latch onto, and Snyder may have found a perfect fit with Sofia Boutella as the mysterious Kora. 

The "Rebel Moon" trailer offers a glimpse into how her character fits into this expansive universe and how she'll be part of a team to seek redemption and take down the evil powers that be. For Snyder, there really was no other option than Boutella, as he explained in an interview with Netflix. He always had her in mind for the role of Kora and even utilized her background as a dancer for some of the action scenes. 

In fact, there was a simple trick Snyder used to get Boutella back into the proper mindset while filming, "She gave me a sweatshirt that said five, six, seven, eight on it because sometimes when we'd be working, we're on a giant stage and she's kind of spun out a little bit. And I'd be like, 'Five, six, seven, eight,' and you'd see her just snap to. It's like she can't not. You can unlock her with it." It's a neat life hack and a good thing to know for any filmmakers who might work with the actress in the future. 

Sofia Boutella started her career in the entertainment industry as a dancer, working for the likes of Madonna and Rihanna. She appeared in numerous music videos, and one of her earliest movie roles was in the British film, "StreetDance 2." However, she soon made the leap to more action-oriented fare, like "Kingsman: The Secret Service," "The Mummy," and "Atomic Blonde." It may seem like a stretch, but for Boutella, it made sense. 

Boutella has done many of her own stunts over the years. Insider even published a behind-the-scenes video of her performing her character's fight choreography for "Hotel Artemis." She even spoke with SFX Magazine about how the movements of each art form are two sides of the same coin, "I always treat fight scenes like choreography – thinking of it as dance choreography was the best way of learning for me." But she noted how they weren't completely the same, "But they're different because one is very much trying to survive, while the other is trying to express something. I think when you fight you have to tap into colors which don't exist when you're dancing."

And when "Rebel Moon" comes to Netflix on December 22, most of the fighting you'll see is done by Boutella. In his interview with Netflix, Zack Snyder mentioned how she did "99 percent of the fighting." Boutella has defined herself as one of the best action stars of the modern era, and hopefully, there's plenty more "Rebel Moon" to come so that she can continue showing off her skills.