Zack Snyder Teases A Rebel Moon Director's Cut After Disastrous Netflix Reviews

We may not have touched down on "Rebel Moon" just yet, but given the first reactions to Zack Snyder's new epic, it's understandable if some would be reluctant to see it now. While the audience rating might be 72% on Rotten Tomatoes from the movie's limited theatrical release, it can't cover up the terrible 24% critical reaction riddled with some of the worst reviews. The rest of the world will have to wait until Friday to pass its verdict, but whatever we get, Snyder's recent comments suggest that we still have yet to see the finished product by way of a director's cut.

Speaking with the Associated Press, Snyder explained that after our first sighting of "Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire," another one is definitely on the way, and it's the version he always envisioned. "It's not an 'extended cut' of this movie," said Snyder. "It's almost like a different movie. It's almost a different universe that [the R-rated cut] lives in than this movie." 

When breaking down the reasoning behind this, the "Army of the Dead" director said, "All of my director's cuts exist as a response to the things that were demanded of me to take out of the theatrical version, right? With ['Rebel Moon'], that demand was never made." Now, with free rein, he's got a brand new universe of his own to play around with that, according to him, goes much harder than what the first film will provide.

After the dust has settled on our first dose of epic sci-fi splendor from Zack Snyder, it's expected that the director's cut of the first installment of "Rebel Moon" will arrive sometime in 2024. According to Tudum, the filmmaker has already teased that the director's cut will add an extra hour to the story. 

We're not the betting sort, but in a world made by Snyder where heroes wield twin laser swords and very large weaponry, the action will likely hit a little harder, which the director always had in mind. "We knew this [theatrical cut] would be a PG-13 movie," Snyder admitted. "In my heart of hearts, I always wanted it to be rated R, but you realize this sort of scale and cost of a movie and say, 'Well, it's not 100% responsible to have that demand.'"

There's no telling of just how much the story and important segments of "Rebel Moon" that are set to be added may improve or impede the story as a whole. Might a more favorable reception for the director's cut lead Snyder's planned sequel, "Rebel Moon: Part 2 — The Scargiver," to lean more towards an R-rating, as well? That answer is a few lightyears away, but we'll be able to see if the critics were off the mark when "Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire" arrives on Netflix on December 22.