There are long-running movie franchises, and then there’s Star Wars. The beloved space opera has been entertaining audiences for decades, and is currently available in its entirety with a Disney+ subscription. Due to this level of adoration, other sci-fi projects are often judged related to Goerge Lucas’ franchise. And Rebel Moon’s writer revealed how he feels about those Star Wars comparisons.
Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon just arrived for those with a Netflix subscription, setting up the director’s burgeoning sci-fi franchise in the process. Some of Rebel Moon’s critical response include comparisons to Star Wars, thanks to similar themes about a cosmic empire that’s oppressing other planets. Writer Kurt Johnstad spoke to Variety about this chatter, and responded honestly saying:
It’s impossible not to be compared to Star Wars. They’re very different worlds. We’re trying to do very different things. I have great respect for George Lucas and everything that he’s done for 50 years. He’s changed the shape of this entire town, so we can’t say that we haven’t been affected or haven’t absorbed some of those lessons and cinematically those experiences. It would be false, and we’d be lying. The idea is, if given our own opportunity — just like George was a complete rebel in this town and an iconoclast — how can we do the same thing in our time? That isn’t a written mandate, but it’s just like, ‘Oh, how can I write the most provocative, inspiring, interesting, twist and turn kind of story?’ George used Campbell’s hero’s journey, as did we. This is Kora’s story, and she’s at the heart of the movie.
There you have it. By the writer of Rebel Moon’s estimation, they are two very different franchises. But he seems to understand why folks automatically make comparisons to Star Wars. It’s hard to ignore that franchise’s impact on the entertainment industry as a whole, especially within the sci-fi space.
CinemaBlend’s review of Rebel Moon did mention its connection to George Lucas’ franchise, as the movie was seemingly inspired by Zack Snyder’s scrapped Star Wars movie. It should be fascinating to see how the first of Snyder’s movies performs. Especially since the trailer for Rebel Moon Part 2 is already out. Later in his same interview, Johnstad offered the way the new sci-fi property offers something new when compared to Star Wars, saying:
Zack is trying to do something very different here that really hasn’t been done in a long time. This isn’t an IP. This is an original story. It’s being created by hundreds, if not thousands of technicians. That’s a really bold thing. He as a filmmaker takes big swings on every film, and it’s fun to watch somebody who has enough confidence, internally in himself, to take those kinds of swings in the material that he puts out there in the world.
He’s not wrong. While IPs continue to dominate decisions made in the TV and film industries, Rebel Moon offers something totally new. It's already performing quite well on Netflix, as it’s been trending at #1 on the streaming service for a few days now. And I can only imagine how many more streams its going to get as the holiday week continues on.
Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire is streaming now on Netflix. Be sure to check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
