Zack Snyder does not shy away from harsh scenes in his films. For his big sci-fi epic on Netflix, however, he had to comply with the streaming service’s requirements. His film threatened to become too brutal.
What kind of film is Rebel Moon? The film by director Zack Snyder generated quite a bit of hype even before its release. It has been described as a dark version of Star Wars, but it is said to be based on an idea that Snyder reused from a DC film.
When the film was released on Netflix in two parts, fan reactions were lukewarm. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first half of Rebel Moon has a critic score of 22% and a user rating of 56%. Part 2 is no better: Critics give it a rating of 17% according to Rotten Tomatoes while users rate it 47%.
A few days ago, Rebel Moon was released again, this time in a longer Director’s Cut. This is not unusual for Zack Snyder. There was already a significantly longer “Snyder Cut” for Justice League. In the case of Rebel Moon, however, Netflix had to step in because otherwise, the film would have turned out far too brutal.
Netflix wants a movie for teenagers …
Zack Snyder is not exactly squeamish when it comes to violence in his films.
These were Netflix’s requirements: However, Netflix wanted teenagers to be able to watch Rebel Moon as well. Thus, they agreed on a cut version that received the American rating “PG-13”.
This allows teenagers to watch the film, but everyone under 13 should be accompanied by their parents. In Germany, this is roughly equivalent to the age rating “from 12”.
However, the situation was different with the Director’s Cut of Rebel Moon. In advance, Snyder spoke positively about the collaboration with Netflix, indicating that they gave him free rein in the editing.
As it turns out, that was not entirely the case. The Director’s Cut has now received an “R” rating, meaning it can only be viewed by teenagers over 17 years old in the USA. This corresponds roughly to the German classification “from 16”.
… and Snyder has to give in
Zack Snyder wanted more: He envisioned a film that showed extreme violence at times:
There were a few cuts I had to make to a sequence to meet the “R” rating. It was actually rated “NC-17” (17 and over) for quite a while, and then we had to include fewer blows (to the head) and leave out a few bloody scenes.
Zack Snyder via 3djuegos.com
Netflix insisted on cutting the aforementioned scenes from the film. That was the deal, Snyder said, and he had to stick to it. The final product wasn’t as brutal as initially thought, but it was clear to him from the very beginning that he would deliver the harder Director’s Cut later.
Whether you like the significantly longer and harder version of Rebel Moon better than the trimmed first version is something you will have to decide for yourselves. Have you seen it yet and do you like it? Feel free to let us know in the comments. MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski has shared her opinion on the “short” version of Part 1 in her own article.
