Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire Film
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, or simply Rebel Moon, is a 2023 American epic space opera film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten, based on a story Snyder conceived. Its ensemble cast features Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam and Anthony Hopkins. The film is set in a fictional galaxy ruled by the imperialistic Motherworld, whose military, the Imperium, threatens a farming colony on the moon of Veldt. Kora, a former Imperium soldier, ventures on a quest to recruit warriors from across the galaxy to make a stand against the Imperium before they return to Veldt.
Following a limited theatrical release, Rebel Moon was released by Netflix on December 22, 2023. It received generally negative reviews from critics. An R-rated extended cut is set for release in 2024, and a sequel, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, is scheduled for release on April 19, 2024.
Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire Film
STORY
Atticus Noble, the sadistic admiral of the militaristic Imperium, arrives on the backwater moon of Veldt on behalf of the Motherworld, an interstellar empire fueled by centuries of conquest and war. He explains that his troops are hunting for a band of rebels led by siblings Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe, and offers to buy the village’s surplus grain. The village’s leader, Sindri, refuses the offer, claiming they barely have enough to survive. One villager, Gunnar, contradicts Sindri and indicates that the village might have some surplus. Noble kills Sindri and orders Gunnar to prepare enough grain—which will not leave the village with enough to survive—in ten weeks. Noble departs, leaving a handful of soldiers to oversee the harvest. Another villager, Kora, finds most of the soldiers preparing to gang rape another villager and kills them. Kora warns the villagers that Noble will massacre the village once he returns, unless they mount a defense.
Kora and Gunnar depart for the port town of Providence to recruit warriors for the village’s defense, including Titus, a disgraced Imperium general. During their journey, she reveals to Gunnar that she once served the Imperium as a soldier, having been adopted by Balisarius, an Imperium commander, after he killed her family and destroyed her home planet. She became bodyguard to Motherworld princess Issa, who was expected to usher in an end to the Imperium’s conquests. She was unable to protect Issa during her coronation, when the royal family was assassinated, and Balisarius subsequently declared himself regent before renewing its conquests.
Arriving at Providence, the pair meets smuggler and criminal Kai, who agrees to take them to recruit Titus. On the way, Kai takes them to two additional warriors: Tarak, a beast tamer, and Nemesis, a talented cybernetic swordswoman. The group finds Titus in a drunken stupor on a remote moon. Titus initially refuses, but agrees to join them after Kora suggests that he avenge his fallen soldiers. Using Gunnar’s previous dealings with the Bloodaxes, they then arrive at planet Sharaan to meet them and their rebellion. Darrian agrees to defend the village and brings a handful of rebels with him, while Devra considers a fight against Noble’s dreadnought, the King’s Gaze, hopeless and a waste of their resources. After they depart Sharaan, Noble arrives and eradicates its population as punishment for assisting the rebels.
Kai tells Kora that he has been moved by her quest to abandon his illicit life as a smuggler and that he has one last shipment to drop off to leave that life behind him. He takes the group to a trading post at which Noble’s ship has arrived and restrains them, betraying them to Noble and revealing he had always intended to do so for the bounties on their heads. Noble identifies Kora as Arthelais, a wanted deserter and fugitive. Kai demands that Gunnar paralyze Kora; Gunnar instead frees her and kills Kai. The other warriors are unshackled as well. A battle ensues, with Darrian and Noble among its casualties. Afterwards, the surviving warriors return to Veldt together.
Noble’s corpse is recovered by Motherworld forces, and he is revived after having spoken on an astral plane with Balisarius, who demands that Noble end the insurgency against him and bring Kora to him alive so he can execute her himself.
CAST
- Sofia Boutella as Kora, Arthelais, a former Imperium soldier who rallies warriors from across the galaxy to fight against Motherworld
- Djimon Hounsou as Titus, a former general of the Imperium recruited to lead the fight against Motherworld
- Ed Skrein as Atticus Noble, an admiral and Balisarius’ right-hand man
- Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, a farmer and secretly in love with Kora who joins her in her attempts to defend his homeworld, Veldt
- Doona Bae as Nemesis, a cyborg swordmaster
- Ray Fisher as Darrian Bloodaxe, a warrior and Devra’s brother recruited by Kora
- Charlie Hunnam as Kai, a mercenary and starship pilot hired by Kora
- Anthony Hopkins as the voice of Jimmy, the last member of a race of mechanical knights
- Dustin Ceithamer as the body-double on the set of Jimmy
- Staz Nair as Tarak, a nobleman-turned-blacksmith with the ability to bond with animals of nature
- Fra Fee as Balisarius, a tyrant and Kora’s adoptive father who seized control of the Motherworld
- Cleopatra Coleman as Devra Bloodaxe, Darrian’s sister and the leader of a band of insurgents opposing the Motherworld
- Stuart Martin as Den, a local farmer, hunter and Kora’s fling
- Ingvar Sigurdsson as Hagen, a friend of Kora who helped her rebuild her life after she abandoned the Imperium
- Alfonso Herrera as Cassius, Noble’s team warrior
- Cary Elwes as the King
- Rhian Rees as the Queen
- E. Duffy as Millius, a rebel fighter under Devra’s command. The character, like Duffy, is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.
- Jena Malone as Harmada, a spider-like humanoid alien
- Sky Yang as Aris, a young Motherworld soldier who stands up against his comrades’ brutality
- Charlotte Maggi as Sam, a water girl who warmly welcomes any outsiders that come to her village
- Corey Stoll as Sindri, a village chief on Veldt
- Stella Grace Fitzgerald as Princess Issa
- Greg Kriek as Marcus, a Motherworld soldier who enjoy to be cruel with the others.
- Brandon Auret as Faunus
- Ray Porter as Hickman, a farmer whom Tarak is indebted to
- Tony Amendola as King Levitica, an alien king who shelters the Bloodaxes and their rebellion
- Dominic Burgess as Dash Thif
- Derek Mears as Simeon
- Sisse Marie as Astrid
PRODUCTION
Development
Rebel Moon is inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa, the Star Wars films and Heavy Metal magazines; its logo is an homage to the latter. Johnstad and Snyder first started talking about creating the film in 1997. The project began development as a Star Wars film that Snyder had pitched to Lucasfilm, shortly after the sale of Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. This pitch was to be a more mature take on the Star Wars universe. Snyder also pitched the idea as both a video game and a film to Warner Bros. Pictures “a couple of times”. The project was later redeveloped by producer Eric Newman and Snyder, first as an original television series, before settling on a film by Netflix.
RELEASE
December 22, 2023
