Newly released concept art for Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon gives a peek at how the film will put his spin on Star Wars. Snyder's upcoming sci-fi adventure is set to get rolling in spring of 2022, and is one of several projects he has in the works for Netflix. Though Rebel Moon will tell its own story, it was originally going to be part of the biggest sci-fi franchise in history.
Rebel Moon actually began as Snyder's pitch for a Star Wars movie, but he was unsuccessful in getting it greenlit. Snyder subsequently reworked Rebel Moon's story, shedding all Star Wars connections and establishing the film as taking place in its own unique world, which Snyder hopes to kickstart a new cinematic universe with, as has been the case for his zombie movie Army of the Dead. As Rebel Moon prepares to enter production in the new year, audiences are gradually getting more of a sense of what the film will be.
Snyder has released some new concept art for Rebel Moon, showing what appears to be a squadron of soldiers patrolling an alien world. While it doesn't offer a great deal of context, the Rebel Moon concept art does still show a surprising amount about how Snyder has tweaked the film from its Star Wars beginnings. The misty, burned-out world and tall stones with inscriptions indicate the extent to which Rebel Moon will be showing different worlds in the galaxy of its story, while the soldiers at the center of the image say a lot, too.
It seems like a good bet that the soldiers seen in the concept art would have been Stormtroopers had Rebel Moon been made as a Star Wars movie. This is evident by the soldiers carrying rifles and swords along with at least one bearing a cape, as well as the soldiers having skull-like faces along with red, luminescent lighting on the inside. The design seen in Snyder's concept art looks more menacing and distinctly alien, essentially putting a bit of a Parademon spin on the classic Stormtrooper look, which seems like quite a fitting approach for Rebel Moon's story.
Rebel Moon will involve a colony in a distant galaxy that faces an impending invasion by a warlord known as Balisarius. The female protagonist of Rebel Moon, to be portrayed by Sofia Boutella, is tasked with recruiting warriors from other planets to oppose the invasion. Apart from Star Wars, Snyder has also cited the work of Akira Kurosawa and Seven Samurai, a common Star Wars influence, as also being a heavy inspiration for Rebel Moon, but the new image shows he's also striving to make the film something fresh and new in the sci-fi genre.
Snyder's concept art is the first real visual tease he's given of Rebel Moon, and as the film nears its start date, he's sure to pull back the curtain more. While Rebel Moon may no longer be a Star Wars movie, Snyder has still held onto some of its DNA in repurposing it into a new story of his own. That can clearly be seen on the concept art for Rebel Moon, with Snyder using Stormtroopers as the basis to create what looks like a new sinister military force all its own, and who, like the story and character of Star Wars, inhabit a galaxy far, far away.