Zack Snyder Talks Rebel Moon Part 2 + Director’s Cuts

Director Zack Snyder discusses Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver’s action sequences, heart, and why he is excited for the upcoming director’s cuts.

 

Fans have been waiting for Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver to come to Netflix ever since that cliffhanger ending of Rebel Moon Part 1 back in December. Well, the time has finally come to see what this group of misfit rebels is up to, and if they have what it takes to destroy the Motherworld.

Ahead of the film’s release, we sat down with director Zack Snyder to discuss not only Rebel Moon Part 2, but what the future holds for these characters and this world he created. Snyder reveals what he is excited for fans to see in Part 2, as well as the upcoming Director’s Cut versions of the films. He also talks about the key emotional moment in the film and his sigunature action sequences.

Zack Snyder Talks Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver

Tessa Smith: How much fun is it getting to play in your own world that you’ve created and had in your mind for so long?

Zack Snyder: Yeah, it’s super fun. I think one of the things that we were talking about that’s really cool is that now that we get to movie two and you’re really kind of deep in it. Even the environments and the design and everything, now, we’re so deep that we actually are inspired by the designs that we already made. So you really are at the point where you’re in a echo chamber. And it’s really kind of fun, because you don’t have to look too far outside of what you’ve done to create more.

Tessa Smith: Something I’ve always said, and I will forever say, is that Zack Snyder knows how to do an action sequence. I feel like you are a master at that. And one of the things I love about this is there’s so much action, especially towards the end, but nothing feels repetitive. So can you kind of talk about your approach to the action sequences in here?

Zack Snyder: The thing that was cool about the movie that as a filmmaker, but then also as the storyteller, I felt that everyone’s objectives were really clear. Sometimes an action sequence where you’re not sure what the parties are trying to achieve with the fighting can get a little bit mind numbing, where I felt like in this case, we knew that the villagers were trying to do everything they could to defend the village from this onslaught. And whether that be through trickery, or traps, or whatever, it could to slow them down. But eventually that the Motherworld’s forces would overrun them.

Then, meanwhile, there was a second story with Nemesis fighting to defend the children and the older people up in the longhouse. And then at this third story was Kora up on the Dreadnought trying to figure out how she was going to sabotage that thing. So really, just the idea of each of them having a really clear objective and really clear story arc within this smaller story, I think really helps to clarify the three things that’s happening. And then honestly, the trickiest part is they all end up sort of coming together a little bit. And they’re all sort of reflecting on each other. So that was the trickiest part to make sure that all that action lined up cleanly, because it was from different perspectives. That was a bit of the tricky part, but also super fun. 

Tessa Smith: How did you decide where Part One was going to end, and Part Two because now we’re gonna have Part Three.

Zack Snyder: When I wrote the story, I wrote it as a single story. And so Part Two, it was obvious that we were gonna have this big action sequence in Gandhi Hall, where they fight at the end of Part One, and I knew pretty much that that would have to be the end because we were gonna go into this long harvest sequence, and there was no real break up till that point. So we knew that’s where the break would come. But it really changes the tone, because we’ve been out in the galaxy, looking for the soldiers, romping around, and then when we come back it’s much more grounded and it’s a lot of character. It’s a lot of understanding the village life and the subtleties of their culture, before the Motherworld’s forces come in and it’s on.

Tessa Smith: I love that scene where they’re all diving into their backstories. Can you just talk about the importance of giving that to the audience, and the characters, because I feel it really helps them connect.

Zack Snyder: I really feel it’s the why we fight part of the movie. It’s really important for a movie like this, where you get an opportunity to find out what makes them tick, so that the stakes are raised, so that the catharsis of the battle is really a thing that seems necessary for each of them to evolve and grow. That, to me, was super important before we got into the actual fighting, to make sure everybody was clear of their motivations and clear in their need they had for the battle to make them whole again.

Tessa Smith: Is there anything you can tease for what’s next? What are you excited to come up next in the story? 

Zack Snyder: I feel like we have all the big pieces in play. We know Balisarius is still in charge on the Motherworld. We have a little piece of information, I won’t say, at the end of the movie that actually would catapult us into another adventure. So there’s a lot of stuff out there.

Now, I think the one thing to look forward to is also in August, we think it’s going to be in August, is the Director’s Cuts of the movies will come out, which are these very hard R-rated versions of the movie, but also very, very much extended, which I like to call the alternate reality versions of the movie because things happen in the PG-13 version that don’t happen in the R-rated version, and things happen in the R that don’t happen in PG-13.

They’re completely different universes. And so it will be fun for people to see those two movies because there’s a lot of questions that you might still have at the end of movie two that are answered in the Director’s Cut for sure.

Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver comes to Netflix on April 19th.

NEXT: Jaeden Martell & Maxwell Jenkins Talk Arcadian + Potential Sequel

About Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver

Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver continues the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle the warriors must face the truths of their own pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.

Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver comes to Netflix on April 19th.