Zack Snyder's Creative Control in Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire

Zack Snyder's Unprecedented Freedom

In a recent interview, actors Ed Skrein and Sofia Boutella discussed the great freedom director Zack Snyder had when it came to making Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire. The Netflix sci-fi epic comes will serve as the first in what's meant to be a multi-entry franchise from the Fantastic Four director. Boutella and Skrein star alongside Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam, Game of Thrones' Michiel Huisman, and Gran Turismo's Djimon Hounsou.

Sofia Boutella as Kora standing in a field in Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

Zach Snyder is known for being a director who goes very in-depth with his films, and it seems Synder was able to do so to his full potential in his new film. In a recent Screen Rant interview about Rebel Moon, Ed Skrein and Sofia Boutella discussed the total freedom Snyder had for the film, praising his ambitious vision for the project. Check out the full quote below:

Sofia Boutella's Kora aiming her gun and looking over her shoulder in Rebel Moon Part One A Child of Fire

Ed Skrein: Absolutely. And I feel like historically as well, me and Sofia were real lucky to be on this one and to be like the leads on this one particularly. I kept thinking, 'Where's all the Netflix people telling him what to do? He's got the keys to the castle.' They just said, 'Take the keys, bro. Go for a drive.' We were able to do everything we wanted to do. And I'd say things to him, 'Yeah, I had this crazy idea about Noble.' He's like, 'I like it.' Then we'd come a week or so later to the day we're filming it, and he'd have done even more stuff, even darker and more crazy. And I'd be like, 'We are getting away with this?' And it really felt like he really was supported here, obviously by Debbie and the other producers. But I think I have to give a shout-out to Netflix for giving him that space and freedom. And I also feel like if you've got Zack Snyder, you give him the keys to the damn castle, man, you let him run with it anything he needs, yes, sir. Then I think you can see on screen, this is Zack Snyder doing Zack Snyder and the most Zack Snyder he's ever been in a Zack Snyder film.

Ed Skrein as Admiral Atticus Noble in Rebel Moon

Sofia Boutella: Yeah, and you're right about the Netflix aspect. I feel like Zack deserved this project for such a long time, and I'm so grateful for Netflix for giving it to him with the key to the castle, basically. But Netflix has done that for Guillermo del Toro with Pinocchio. He's had the way he wanted to do that film for a long time and he was able to finally do it because Netflix allowed him.

Jimmy the robot looking up at the sky with red sparks surrounding him in Rebel Moon.

Critical Reception & Fan Fervor

While actors like Skrein and Boutella - as well as some critics - have praised Synder's vision on the project, others have criticized Rebel Moon for prioritizing worldbuilding over storytelling and creating an exceedingly convoluted narrative. This divide is only going to grow as a wider audience gains access to the film later this month. Netflix will greatly increase the number of eyes on the project compared to its current limited theater release, in turn also massively raising the number of viewers contributing to overall discourse about the movie.

Sofia Boutella as Kora pointing a gun in Rebel Moon

Moreover, this is only the first entry in Snyder's new series, meaning he's only begun to establish its overall canon. The franchise's next installment, Part Two – The Scargiver, is slated for release next April, and he will likely indulge his creative tendencies even more the next time around. Considering the huge size of Snyder's new cinematic universe - which also includes his other film Army of the Dead - there's a wealth of new material to be explored by the director, giving even more for fans to dissect and form opinions on.

Rebel Moon's Release and Impact

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire is currently playing in select theaters before it begins streaming on Netflix at 7pm PT on December 21.