Director Zack Snyder and producer Deborah Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
Preview:
Zack Snyder will finally get to make ‘The Last Photograph’.
He has cast ‘Rebel Moon’s Fra Fee and Stuart Martin in the movie.
It follows an ex-DEA agent hunting for missing family members.
Having put aside his giant ‘Rebel Moon’ sci-fi franchise for now, Zack Snyder is taking time to finally put something more personal before the cameras.
Deadline reports that the director is getting ready to start production on longstanding passion project ‘The Last Photograph’.
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But he hasn’t entirely forgotten ‘Rebel Moon’, as two of the actors from that movie –– Fra Fee and Stuart Martin –– are aboard to lead ‘The Last Photograph’.
Director Zack Snyder at Next on Netflix Animation Preview. Photo: Netflix.
With a story crafted by Snyder and veteran collaborator Kurt Johnstad (the latter wrote the actual screenplay), ‘The Last Photograph’ follows an ex-DEA operative who must return to the mountains of South America in an effort to find his missing niece and nephew, following the brutal murders of their diplomat parents.
Enlisting the help of a washed-up junkie war photographer, the only person to have seen the face of the killers, he sets out, determined to find the children and the truth, but soon learns he must also face the ghosts of his past.
Here’s Snyder telling Deadline what the movie means to him:
“The idea of taking camera in hand and simply making a movie in an intimate way is very appealing to me. ‘The Last Photograph’ is a meditation of life and death, embodying some of the trials that I have experienced in my own life and the exploration of those ideas through image making.”
Snyder, working alongside producing partner/wife Deborah Snyder and fellow producer Wesley Coller, has wrangled together the funding for this one partly thanks to a tax incentive based in Colombia. The movie will shoot in the country as well as Iceland and Los Angeles.
With a score to be written by Hans Zimmer, Steven Doar and Omer Benyamin, the movie starts shooting this month.
Where else can we see Fra Fee and Stuart Martin?
Fra Fee attends the Netflix Premiere of Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 13, 2023 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Netflix.
Martin has been part of just-launched TV series ‘In Flight’ and is attached to another show, ‘Atomic’. Beyond those, there are the in-development movie likes of ‘Storm Witch’ and ‘From These Ashes’.
‘The Last Photograph’ has yet to lock down a distributor, but given Snyder’s name behind it, we doubt it’ll take too long to find a willing company.
Zack Snyder attends the Netflix’s Tudum: A Global Fan Event 2023 at Fundação Bienal de São Paulo on June 17, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images for NETFLIX.
On Netflix on Friday, April 19th, ‘Rebel Moon: Part Two –– The Scargiver’ sees director Zack Snyder offering up the second chapter of his expansive, war-happy space adventure, this time with a narrowed focus and slightly more coherent storyline.
Yet, like the first part, it doesn’t work, falling into the feeling of a lower-rent ‘Star Wars’ movie that disappoints on many levels.
If you watched the first part of ‘Rebel Moon’ and had your socks knocked off at its audacious, sweeping scale and intense science fiction action… Then good for you. But we wonder if we watched a different movie.
For those who found that outing an unoriginal slog filled with cliches and tropes and wondered if a follow-up could do the impossible and actually come off worse, then… Zack Snyder is here to unfortunately confirm that suspicion.
Because ‘The Scargiver’ somehow manages to be full of battles and stakes and yet completely devoid of authentic emotion or reaction. True, some of the heroes here don’t make it out alive, but you honestly will not care. And the rest? Pure noise and bolted-together nonsense.
The script for ‘The Scargiver’ simply and obviously continues what ‘A Child of Fire’ began –– Sofia Boutella’s Kora has returned to the pastoral moon of Veldt with the warriors she thinks could defend the place. But bafflingly (due to some poorly explained Motherworld policy), she seems to believe that all will be well since she managed to slay Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein). Alas! Not only is Noble not dead thanks to some slightly Darth Vader-like medical treatment, but he’s also boiling with vengeance towards Kora and is only too happy to take it out on Veldt.
Yet the new movie somehow manages to waste even the vaguest spark of an idea, any potential value buried in a mire of off-the-peg motivational speeches that would make someone giving out advice at a Holiday Inn conference room cringe. Even seasoned performers such as Anthony Hopkins cannot make this stuff work.
The pacing is also way off, the first third of the movie stilted and awkward, grinding to a halt as various characters fill the people of Veldt (and, by extension, whoever is watching and not already asleep by that point) in on their backstories. There are zero surprises to be found here, except perhaps from Staz Nair’s Tarak, who it turns out is these days often shirtless but used to be a buttoned-up prince whose people used giant warbirds in the hope that they can battle spaceships –– it did not go well for them! Yet even that seemingly impressive sequence feels like Snyder borrowing, in this case from himself, as it has echoes of the opening scenes of ‘Man of Steel’.
Snyder also still indulges himself on the visual front –– for every impressive location shot or beautiful looking sequence of a ship against a giant ringed moon, there are a hundred generic moments of laser blast fire and such an overload of slow-motion that you could watch the movie on fast forward and large chunks of it would appear to be playing at normal speed. A director having a stamped-on style is one thing. A filmmaker lazily going to the well so many times that it quickly runs dry is quite another.
‘Rebel Moon’s returning cast don’t manage to spin the material into gold any more than they did the original. In many ways, they’re even more stranded among their director’s indulgences.
As we mentioned above, the initial chunk of the film splits its time between Ed Skrein’s Darth V… Sorry, Admiral Noble being angry (Skrein still at least seems to be having fun swallowing scenery) and either the warrior characters spinning their wheels talking about their background, or long, dull sequences of farming that make it all look like a Budweiser commercial.
Sofia Boutella carries the lion’s share of the character work, her own backstory an entirely unsurprising tale of betrayal, but even she’s stranded in a character who appears to have two modes: violent fighter or mopey love interest.
The likes of Bae Doona, Djimon Hounsou and E. Duffy likewise remain entirely wasted in their supporting roles, whose character development is relegated to fighting or worrying.
Everyone else is an archetype in search of a character, less active participants than human props.
An utterly disappointing follow-up to the first ‘Rebel Moon’ that we didn’t think was possible, this easily limbos under the low bar set by that movie. A waste of time, money and actors, it is reduced to embarrassingly cringeworthy moments such as a quartet still playing dramatic music in the same room as a king is being portrayed or long, battering sequences of war machines shooting at people.
This so wants to aim for the quality and majesty of movies such as the recent ‘Dune: Part Two’ but ends up hitting ‘Dumb: Part Two’. Snyder has already talked about, and leaves us with, hints of further stories to come, but that’s not something to anticipate after this.
‘Rebel Moon: Part Two –– The Scargiver’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’?
Kora (Sofia Boutella) and the surviving warriors prepare to fight and defend their new homeworld Veldt against the Motherworld.
Who is in the cast of ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’?
Director Zack Snyder Talks ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.’
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director and cinematographer Zack Snyder about his work on ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver,’ creating the overall story, knowing where to split ‘A Child of Fire’ and ‘Scargiver’ into two different films, Kora’s journey, working with Sofia Boutella, shooting the battle sequences, and the future of the franchise.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Snyder, Sofia Boutella, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Staz Nair, Elise Duffy, Ed Skrein and Fra Fee.
Zack Snyder attends the Netflix’s Tudum: A Global Fan Event 2023 at Fundação Bienal de São Paulo on June 17, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images for NETFLIX.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about developing the overall story for these two films, when you realized it was too much story for one movie, and how you decided where to split the two films?
Zack Snyder: When Kurt (Johnstad) and Shay (Hatten) and I were working on the script, even as I was pitching it with Netflix in our early days, we knew we were over 220 pages for the script. We cut it down to the version that you see, and it was still a good solid two hours and the director’s cuts are a solid three hours each, so it’s a lot of material, obviously. So, I knew early on that we were going to have to cut it and we knew we had Gondival in the middle of the movie and that run-in with Noble, and so that was where we kind of thought, “Okay, that’s a good spot.” Kora has a small victory, but it’s a false victory and we felt like that would be a good place to break it. The truth is that I think once you see ‘Part Two,’ you’ll really understand that it’s one story.
MF: Can you talk about how Kora has changed from the first film, the importance of seeing this story through her eyes, and what it’s been like for you working with Sofia Boutella on these two movies?
ZS: First, I’ll just say Sofia’s an incredible partner and an incredible actress, and I trust her incredibly with the work and really rely on her physicality and her emotional strength. She’s just amazing. Also, I really feel like her story is an incredible story of redemption. You’ll find out in ‘Part Two” why she’s on the run, what she’s done and the importance that this kind of sacrifice has for her. How far she would be willing to go to be redeemed, I think is really an incredible and fun thing that she really personifies incredibly well.
MF: In addition to directing, you are also the cinematographer on ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.’ Can you talk about shooting the battle sequences and was it physically and emotionally challenging for you to do both?
ZS: Yeah, thankfully, I’m supported by this guy named John Clothier, who’s an incredible camera operator who I’ve been working with since ‘Watchmen,’ and he is an amazing resource. He’s the A camera operator, I’m the B camera operator, and so we work really in partnership. But during the battle sequences, all those explosions and stuff, we were just right in them, in the heart of them, getting plastered with dirt and debris every day. So yeah, it was really taxing and difficult for us to photograph, but super fun, rewarding and I wouldn’t do it any other way. It’s just like when you are in the trenches, literally with the guy’s filming, you really understand just what physically is happening and what emotionally needs to happen because you’re just right there and so it’s a kind of cool way to make a movie.
MF: Finally, are there more stories that you want to tell in the ‘Rebel Moon’ universe, and what is the future of the franchise?
ZS: Sure, absolutely. I would love to make some more ‘Rebel Moon’ movies. I mean, right now we’re trying to set up to make this little movie that I’ve been working on, so I might go do that, just as a palate cleanser. But in the end, I think the ‘Rebel Moon’ universe has some stories left in it, obviously based on the end of this movie.
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What is the plot of ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’?
Kora (Sofia Boutella) and the surviving warriors prepare to fight and defend their new homeworld Veldt against the Motherworld.
Who is in the cast of ‘Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’?
It is in no way surprising that this began life as a pitch Snyder presented to Lucasfilm way back in the days before Disney snapped it up. That Kathleen Kennedy passed on his side story set in that galaxy far, far is both good and bad news, and particularly positive if you’re a fan of the director’s distinctive visuals and action sense, as it’s full of both.
How you react to the movie might depend on what you’re looking for going in –– if you’re after a sweeping sci-fi epic full of scrappy underdogs looking to battle a powerful empire that is cracking down on any hint of rebellion well… if you’ve also watched ‘Star Wars’ than this might be a solid second choice.
Perhaps the biggest issue with the movie might be that despite all the unfamiliar names for words and characters, it all feels very… done before. Opening on a giant, lurking space vessel and then panning down to a planet where someone is engaged in farm work feels less like crafting a homage to George Lucas (who, let’s not forget, borrowed liberally to create his own space opera) and more like cribbing from his homework. And not just Lucas –– there are elements that you’ll recognize from the likes of ‘Serenity’, ‘Blade Runner’, ‘Terminator’ and many, many more.
Yet with its own mythology to build and some compelling sequences, ‘Rebel Moon’ does find the confidence to stand on its own, even if what remains is not as memorable as some of the classics it is referencing.
Snyder, who has been letting this one cook in the back of his head for years, finally got cracking on it with regular collaborators Shay Hatten (‘Army of the Dead’, ‘Day Shift’, ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’) and Kurt Johnstad, and they’ve whipped up a mostly entertaining romp through the stars. Using the ‘Seven Samurai’ mold of oppressed people looking to secure the services of warriors who will fight an oncoming enemy for them, they’ve built out the story of Kora in such a way that it feels like they were all considering other spin-offs and stories ahead of actually making this one tick over.
Still, in its defense, ‘Part One’ does at least tell a complete story before the inevitable cliffhanger setting up the next movie and does so in a less outwardly annoying fashion than some recent Marvel and DC entries.
The characters are decently drawn, even if none of them feel truly original –– a fighter with a troubled past, a rogue with his own agenda, a disgraced royal with some serious animal wrangling skills… they’re all versions of something that has gone before. Ditto the overarching mythology, which tells the story of a kingdom which loses its monarch and sees the power vacuum filled by a grasping, cunning Regent (played, albeit briefly so far, by Fra Fee).
Snyder as director indulges in every stylised trick for which he’s become known –– if you enjoy his ramped-up, slow-motion, quick-cut action sequences, there is plenty of it on display here, all shot in the cloudy/chome-y sepia-toned way he favors.
The movie assembles a solid cast but doesn’t always quite give them enough to do beyond basic archetypes. Sofia Boutella’s Kora is the focus in the early going, and she’s more than up to the task of playing this recognizable central figure who has some dark notes in her past.
As for the rest, they’re a mixed bag: Charlie Hunnam sports a perhaps ill-judged Irish (space-Irish?) accent as the roguish Kai, who initially helps her look for the others who will help fight back when the forces of the Motherworld (read: Empire) threaten the peaceful community she’s trying to make a new start in. Michiel Huisman has some charm as the naïve farmer who is in over his head, while mostly everyone else gets their action-packed introduction or moment to shine later when the baddies led by Ed Skrein’s Admiral finally track them down.
For both good and ill, ‘Rebel Moon’ is Zack Snyder on full blast. If this one leaves you craving more, don’t forget that Part Two, subtitled ‘The Scargiver’, will be on Netflix on April 19th.
While the writer/director is in genre magpie mode, borrowing a little from other (often better) movies and stories, the whole doesn’t completely equal the sum of its parts. It’s at least a visually interesting, rousing sci-fi adventure.
‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Rebel Moon?
After crash landing on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a stranger with a mysterious past, begins a new life among a peaceful settlement of farmers. But she soon becomes their only hope for survival when the tyrannical Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee) and his cruel emissary, Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein), discover the farmers have unwittingly sold their crops to the Bloodaxes (Cleopatra Coleman and Ray Fisher) — leaders of a fierce group of insurgents hunted by the Motherworld.
Tasked with finding fighters who would risk their lives to defend the people of Veldt, Kora and Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), a tenderhearted farmer naive in the realities of war, journey to different worlds in search of the Bloodaxes, and assemble a small band of warriors who share a common need for redemption along the way: Kai (Charlie Hunnam), a pilot and gun for hire; General Titus (Djimon Hounsou), a legendary commander; Nemesis (Doona Bae), a master swordswoman; Tarak (Staz Nair), a captive with a regal past; and Milius (E. Duffy), a resistance fighter. Back on Veldt, Jimmy (voiced by Anthony Hopkins), an ancient, mechanized protector hiding in the wings, awakens with a new purpose.
But the newly formed revolutionaries must learn to trust each other and fight as one before the armies of the Motherworld come to destroy them all…
A long time ago (well, probably around 2012) in a galaxy far, far away (actually more like Los Angeles), Zack Snyder heard that Disney was buying Lucasfilm and that new ‘Star Wars’ movies were likely. Yet while the director’s pitch for a standalone movie set in the universe of George Lucas’ creations didn’t ultimately click with Kathleen Kennedy and co., he’s now been able to retool the concept into his own sci-fi movie… Or movies, as he’ll explain below.
‘Rebel Moon’ is being produced under Snyder’s big deal with Netflix, set up around the time of zombie thriller ‘Army of the Dead’. It’s an ambitious, ‘Seven Samurai’-style tale of scrappy heroes fighting back against an imposing empire, with more than a few echoes of its original intended destination.
But unlike ‘Star Wars’ more normal family-friendly fare, ‘Rebel Moon’ will have a harder edge, with Snyder planning both an all-audience cut and something he describes as “for fans of mine and people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive.”
‘Rebel Moon’ focuses on the agricultural moon of Veldt, part of a sprawling galaxy of planets overseen by the ferocious, all-powerful Imperium which oversees the other planets from its home base of Mother World.
When Imperium forces expand out to Veldt’s local area, they target the moon as a potentially rich source of food and new recruits. But the natives, none too happy that their already struggling existence is being threatened, turns to a newcomer, Kora (Sofia Boutella) for help.
The isolated woman, who has her own past with the Imperium, knows that it would be foolish to try and negotiate a better deal with the powerful government, so she rounds up some fighters who could be of use against the might of the enemy. But keeping alliances together won’t be quite so easy…
Though Snyder originally wrote one big script for the first movie, the powers that be at Netflix decided that it wouldn’t work as one giant film. So, a change was made…
Says Deborah Snyder, the director’s wife and regular producing partner:
“ Originally, the script was one movie, but it was in ‘Zack form; It was 172 pages. [Netflix film chairman Scott] Stuber was like, ‘On the service, under-two-hour movies really do better for some reason,’ even though you’ll binge-watch a series of eight episodes. Zack said, ‘If you ask me to make this less than two hours, I’m going to lose all the character. You won’t care about these people. It’s a character story about how people can change, and redemption, and what are you willing to fight for…’ So, he said, ‘What if I give you two movies?’”
The first installment of ‘Rebel Moon’ is due to land on Netflix on December 22nd.
