Sofia Boutella opens up about the negative reviews for Zack Snyder’s sci-fi epic Rebel Moon. Snyder’s two-part intergalactic tale released its first part on Netflix in 2023, telling the story of a band of resistance fighters taking a stand against a fascistic regime. While the feature received poor reviews, the budding franchise will return in 2024 with an extended R-rated cut and a sequel subtitled Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.
Boutella revealed to Vulture how she viewed the critical responses upon Rebel Moon‘s release. While Boutella was initially prepared for criticism, some of the harsher reviews did leave her somewhat overwhelmed and feeling sympathetic for those in the production, though she firmly stated she is proud to have been a part of it. Check out Boutella’s full explanation below:
Within the Rebel Moon reviews, many critics appreciated Snyder’s visuals and the foundations that he established for the franchise’s world. The narrative came under closer scrutiny for its derivative elements and characters. Among audiences, the feature did manage to quickly rise to the top of Netflix’s charts for its first week on the service, but would gradually slip down to eighth place by its fourth week, securing a recorded estimate of 78 million views as of January 2024. Despite mixed results at best, however, the immediate future of the Rebel Moon franchise feels secure.
Alongside its second half releasing in April and the R-rated cut set to join both installments on the service soon after, Netflix has wasted no time in expanding Rebel Moon beyond the confines of a movie’s runtime. There are already novels and comic books exploring the backgrounds of various Rebel Moon characters, and more could follow. The franchise has received an incredibly varied and extensive multimedia platform that could win over naysayers.
While Boutella may have been left somewhat disheartened by harsher reactions to Rebel Moon, Netflix’s massive investment into the franchise could give Snyder’s sci-fi epic hope. Its strong foundational world-building could set the stage for The Scargiver to offer a more welcoming story following the first movie’s set-up. As such, though things may seem dark for Snyder’s potential franchise, its already extensive expanded media and a stronger response to the sequel and extended cut could see future Rebel Moon stories be brought to the screen.
See Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire on Netflix.
Source: Vulture