Zack Snyder is known for making ambitious movies. The films are quite often so ambitious that they need to be dialed back for theatrical release. This has in turn led to many Director’s Cuts from Zach Snyder on his various projects. We already knew that Rebel Moon would be getting a director’s cut, but now we know when we’ll see it.
Zach Snyder revealed on the site that used to be Twitter that the Director’s Cuts of both parts of Rebel Moon will arrive on August 2. Alongside that both parts of the film have been retitled in their extended form, Chapter One is called Chalice of Blood while Chapter Two is titled Curse of Forgiveness.
Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Director's Cut Has Been Planned From The Beginning
The process of creating Rebel Moon for Netflix has been a unique one, to say the least. Originally we thought Rebel Moon would be a single film, but then it was revealed it would be split in half. Even before the first part dropped for everybody with a Netflix subscription, it was confirmed that following the standard releases, these director’s cuts would be coming.
The whole exercise was a bit unusual. If Rebel Moon had been planned for theaters then splitting an especially long movie in half wouldn’t have been that surprising, it’s happened enough times now that audiences will accept it. Then we would have seen the eventual Director’s Cut as a Blu-ray release. That’s how Snyder’s films like Watchman or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice handled things.
Sometimes cuts get made to hit certain MPAA ratings. Zack Snyder's Director's Cuts tend to be more violent than the theatrical versions. It has been indicated that the new Rebel Moon cuts will be more violent and sexier.
But because Rebel Moon was made for Netflix, none of this was strictly necessary. Runtimes are less important when your audience can pause the movie whenever they want. Ratings on Netflix don't matter as much either because you're not selling tickets.
Zack Snyder could have, in theory, put the Director’s Cut version together as a single film and release it that way if he so chose. At the very least releasing two different versions of the movies seemed unnecessary but here we are.
Rebel Moon's Director's Cut Is Expected To Be Quite Different From The Original Version
If nothing else it should be an educational exercise. Director’s cuts are always interesting for the way they allow us to look at a director’s decision-making. Why were certain scenes cut the first time around? What’s the value in putting them back in? Sometimes Director’s Cuts can completely change a movie. Snyder has indicated his Rebel Moon Director's Cut is a "different movie."
Having said that, there’s reason for everybody to look forward to the Rebel Moon Director’s Cuts. The original versions of the movies were, it must be said, not widely embraced by fans or critics. But if the past is prologue, there’s reason for hope here. Many would agree that Snyder’s Director’s Cuts are superior versions of his movies than his theatrical cuts, so maybe these will be worth checking out when they arrive on Netflix in August.
