Zack Snyder is shooting for the stars, quite literally, with his latest film Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire. Though the Netflix movie makes its streaming debut Dec. 22, the Justice League director is already planning ahead for what comes next.
Variety’s Marc Malkin paused the filmmaker and his wife, producer Deborah Snyder, on the red carpet of the Rebel Moon premiere to ask about the duo’s dream cast for future films in the franchise.
“We have the dream cast,” Deborah responded with a proud grin.
Zack agreed, explaining he is privileged with “an embarrasment of riches.” He added, “To dream bigger than that just seems rude.”
But when pressed further, Zack admitted, “I think if I could get LeBron James in the movie … I know that sounds crazy. I’m just saying … but yeah, we’ll see as the story evolves.”
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Man of Steel director has worked alongside an NBA great: Zack’s debut film in 1990, called Playground, starred none other than Michael Jordan. The 43-minute long picture is a loveletter to Jordan’s career that weaves in a fictional narrative about a kid who runs into the Chicago Bulls legend on a playground after getting cut from his high school basketball team.
It’s hard to imagine how the “Akron Hammer” would fit into the Rebel Moon universe, but who knows. The Lakers player made it work in Space Jam.
Zack’s upcoming film heralds the start of an all-new sci-fi world that extends beyond Netflix. Titan Comics is releasing a prequel series, entitled Rebel Moon: House of the Bloodaxe, set five years before the events of Rebel Moon — Part One. In his conversation with Variety, Zack revealed he’s simultaneously developing a mobile game and “would love to do a big console game” based on the Rebel Moon universe. If that weren’t enough for Rebel Moon fans, a podcast, an “animated component” and a photography book of black and white portraits from set that are also in the works.
“We have sort of an arc for this storyline that is a little bit longer,” Zack said of the two-part epic. Both parts have already been shot, Zack explained, and the sequel film is scheduled to premiere in April 2024.
“I think it’s going to be really fun for audiences to be able to so quickly get this second installment,” Zack continued. “And then beyond that, we have a few more ideas up our sleeve.”
Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire will have a limited theatrical release starting Dec. 15 followed by a Dec. 21 streaming debut on Netflix. Part Two, currently dubbed The Scargiver, will premiere April 19, 2024.
To learn more about the film franchise, watch the official trailer for Rebel Moon — Part One or take a look at IGN’s interview with Zack Snyder on Breaking the Rules of Star Wars for His Netflix Saga.
Katie Reul is a freelance journalist whose entertainment reporting has been featured in IGN and Variety.
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