Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver
{{Short description|2024 film by Zack Snyder}}
{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Rebel Moon – Part Two:
The Scargiver
| image = Rebel Moon – Part Two The Scargiver poster.jpg
| alt = A group of heroes are huddled, some shooting at unseen enemies, while an army approaches in the background with their spaceships hovering in the sky.
| caption = Release poster
| director = Zack Snyder
| screenplay = {{Plainlist|
- Zack Snyder
- Kurt Johnstad
- Shay Hatten
}}
| story = Zack Snyder
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Deborah Snyder
- Eric Newman
- Zack Snyder
- Wesley Coller
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| music = Tom Holkenborg
| cinematography = Zack Snyder
| editing = Dody Dorn
| studio = {{Plainlist|
- The Stone Quarry
- Grand Electric
}}
| distributor = Netflix
| released = {{Film date|2024|4|12|United States|2024|4|19|Netflix}}
| runtime = {{plainlist|
- 122 minutes{{Cite web |date=March 7, 2024|title=Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver (12A) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/rebel-moon-part-two-the-scargiver-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde5odc0|access-date=March 8, 2024 |website=BBFC}}
- 173 minutes (Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness)
}}
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $166 million
(shared with Part One: A Child of Fire){{Cite web |last=Breznican |first=Anthony |date=June 6, 2023 |title=Zack Snyder Goes Galactic: Exclusive First Look at Rebel Moon |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/06/zack-snyder-exclusive-first-look-rebel-moon |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902224952/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/06/zack-snyder-exclusive-first-look-rebel-moon |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |access-date=August 23, 2023 |website=Vanity Fair}}{{efn|Counting only below-the-line spending, to California workers and vendors.}}
| gross =
}}
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver is a 2024 American epic space opera film directed by Zack Snyder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten. A direct sequel to Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023), the film takes place on the moon of Veldt where Kora and the crew of warriors ventures to help the farmers to defend and fight for their home against the Motherworld. Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Staz Nair, Fra Fee, Elise Duffy, Charlotte Maggi, Stuart Martin, Cary Elwes, and Anthony Hopkins reprise their roles from the first film.
A week after it began a limited theatrical run in the U.S., Netflix released Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver on April 19, 2024. Like its predecessor, the film received generally negative reviews from critics. An R-rated director's cut, titled Rebel Moon – Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness, was released on August 2, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Kit |first=Borys |date=March 24, 2023 |title=Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Will Have Extended R-Rated Versions For Both Parts |url=https://collider.com/zack-snyder-rebel-moon-extended-r-rated-cuts/ |access-date=March 24, 2023 |website=Collider |archive-date=December 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225161837/https://collider.com/zack-snyder-rebel-moon-extended-r-rated-cuts/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Rebel Moon – Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness |url=https://www.filmratings.com/Search?filmTitle=Rebel+Moon+-+Chapter+Two%3A+Curse+Of+Forgiveness&x=0&y=0 |access-date=29 May 2024 |website=FilmRatings.com}} Like the previous installment, the director's cut received mixed reviews, but it was generally considered to be an improvement over the original.
Plot
Kora and her allies—Gunnar, Tarak, Nemesis, Titus and Milius—return to her and Gunnar's village on Veldt, believing that Atticus Noble, whom she had killed, is dead and that her group had prevented the Imperium's return to the village to claim its surplus grain supply,{{efn|As depicted in Rebel Moon (2023)}} but Aris, working as a double agent for the village and the Imperium, informs them that the Imperium is set to arrive in five days. The fighters join the villagers to harvest the grain supply in three days, intending to use the flour as leverage to deter the Imperium from bombing the village; over the remaining two days, Titus intends to train the villagers to fight.
Kora and Gunnar become lovers, and she admits that Balisarius compelled her involvement in his assassination of the Motherworld's royal family, with Kora herself shooting its princess Issa. Balisarius had then attempted to frame her for the coup, but she had instead fled to Veldt in an Imperium dropship to hide from the law.
Over two days, the group trains the handful of villagers in combat, preparing a plan involving digging trenches and tunnels in the fields, planting explosives, and preparing Kora's dropship. The group's members also reveal their pasts to each other, but Kora declines to share her involvement in the royal family's assassination. When Noble arrives with his dreadnought, his forces scan the village, identifying where the women and children, protected by Nemesis and Aris, are hiding, and send troops to capture them to force Kora out. Noble promises to spare the villagers if Kora surrenders, to which she complies, but Gunnar, unwilling to let Kora surrender, triggers the ambush and flees with her. Titus and Tarak lead the village in successfully repelling the first wave, though Nemesis is killed defending the women and children.
The large contingent of the heavily armored and mechanized second wave of Imperium troops pushes the few remaining defenders back, destroying much of the village, but Kora and Gunnar use her dropship and stolen Imperium uniforms to infiltrate Noble's dreadnought, with Kora laying explosives on its power source. Jimmy arrives to help the villagers and their allies in pushing back the assault, and the explosives detonate, bringing down the dreadnought. Gunnar is fatally wounded, and Noble overpowers Kora in a duel before being wounded by Gunnar and then killed by Kora. Kora and Gunnar flee the dreadnought, and Devra Bloodaxe and her rebel forces arrive in ships to destroy the remaining Imperium troops on Veldt as Gunnar dies.
In the aftermath, the village mourns the dead, and Kora admits her past, which Titus reveals he already knew. He also reveals that Issa is alive, and the group declares their intentions to find her and to fight against Balisarius, the Motherworld and the Imperium.
Cast
- Sofia Boutella as Kora / Arthelais, a former Imperium soldier who rallies warriors from across the galaxy to fight against the Motherworld.
- Djimon Hounsou as Titus, a former general of the Imperium recruited to lead the fight against the Motherworld.
- Ed Skrein as Atticus Noble, an admiral and Balisarius' right-hand man. He was killed by Kora before being resurrected by the Imperium.
- Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, Kora's love interest and a farmer who joins her in her attempts to defend his homeworld Veldt.
- Doona Bae as Nemesis, a cyborg swordswoman.
- Ray Fisher as Darrian Bloodaxe, a deceased warrior and Devra's brother recruited by Kora. He appears in a flashback.
- Anthony Hopkins as the voice of JC-1435, 'Jimmy', the last member of a race of mechanical knights.
- Staz Nair as Tarak, a nobleman-turned-blacksmith with the ability to bond with animals of nature.
- Fra Fee as Balisarius, a tyrant and Kora's adoptive father who seized control of the Motherworld.
- Cleopatra Coleman as Devra, Bloodaxe's sister and the leader of a band of insurgents opposing the Motherworld
- Stuart Martin as Den, a local farmer and hunter.
- Ingvar Sigurdsson as Hagen, a friend of Kora who helped her rebuild her life after she abandoned the Imperium
- Alfonso Herrera as Cassius, Noble's team warrior.
- Cary Elwes as the King.
- Rhian Rees as the Queen.
- Stella Grace Fitzgerald as Princess Issa.
- Elise Duffy as Milius, a rebel fighter recruited under Darrian's command.
- Sky Yang as Aris, a young Motherworld soldier who stands up against his comrades' brutality
- Charlotte Maggi as Sam, a farm girl who warmly welcomes any outsiders that come to her village.
Production
= Development =
Rebel Moon is inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa, the Star Wars films and Heavy Metal magazines.{{cite web |last1=Johnston |first1=Rich |title=I Just Watched The Rebel Moon Teaser While Sitting Next To Zack Snyder |url=https://bleedingcool.com/movies/rebel-moon-zack-snyder-netflix-trailer/ |website=Bleeding Cool |date=August 22, 2023 |access-date=August 23, 2023 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902224955/https://bleedingcool.com/movies/rebel-moon-zack-snyder-netflix-trailer/ |url-status=live}} Johnstad and Snyder first started talking about creating the film in 1997.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/rebel-moon-ending-sequel-part-2-1235848821/ |title='Rebel Moon' Writer Explains That Cliffhanger Ending and Confronts the Bad Reviews: 'This Isn't an IP. This Is an Original Story' |last=Brew |first=Caroline |website=Variety |date=December 23, 2023 |access-date=December 25, 2023 |language=en |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224191153/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/rebel-moon-ending-sequel-part-2-1235848821/ |url-status=live}} The project began development as a Star Wars film that Snyder had pitched to Lucasfilm, shortly after the sale of Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. This pitch was to be a more mature take on the Star Wars universe.{{cite web |last1=Travis |first1=Ben |title=Why Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Didn't Become A Star Wars Movie: 'I Knew It Was A Big Ask' – Exclusive Image |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/why-zack-snyder-rebel-moon-didnt-become-star-wars-movie-exclusive/ |website=Empire |date=March 7, 2023 |access-date=July 5, 2023 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902224958/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/why-zack-snyder-rebel-moon-didnt-become-star-wars-movie-exclusive/ |url-status=live}}
Part Two received over $16.6 million in tax credits from the state of California for spending over $83 million on production in the state.{{cite web |last1=Robb |first1=David |title=Joker & Rebel Moon Sequels Among 18 Pics Set For California Tax Credits; Expected To Generate $915M In Production Spending |url=https://deadline.com/2022/08/california-film-tax-credits-may-generate-915m-production-spending-1235096733/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |date=August 22, 2022}}
For the two-part Rebel Moon, the below-the-line wages to California workers and payments to in-state vendors were $166 million.{{Cite web |last=Siegel |first=Tatiana |date=2024-03-06 |title=Apple's Blockbuster Gamble: Was Spending $700 Million on 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' 'Napoleon' and 'Argylle' Worth It? |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/apple-box-office-misfires-napoleon-flower-moon-argylle-1235931957/ |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
= Post-production =
The titles for the two parts were revealed to be Part One: A Child of Fire and Part Two: The Scargiver, according to teaser trailers released at Gamescom in August 2023.{{cite web |last=Webster |first=Andrew |title=Zack Snyder shows the first trailer for his Netflix movie Rebel Moon |url=https://www.theverge.com/23840280/zack-snyder-rebel-moon-trailer-netflix-gamescom |website=The Verge |date=August 23, 2023 |access-date=August 26, 2023 |quote=Today's trailer was revealed as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live in Germany. |archive-date=December 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225161830/https://www.theverge.com/23840280/zack-snyder-rebel-moon-trailer-netflix-gamescom |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=White |first=James |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/first-teaser-for-zack-snyders-rebel-moon-part-1-a-child-of-fire/ |title=First Teaser For Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon |website=Empire |date=August 22, 2023 |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=December 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225161927/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/first-teaser-for-zack-snyders-rebel-moon-part-1-a-child-of-fire/ |url-status=live}} In March 2024, the official trailer was released.{{Cite web |last=Burlingame |first=Russ |date=18 March 2024 |title=Rebel Moon: Part 2 - The Scargiver New Trailer Released By Netflix |url=https://comicbook.com/movies/news/rebel-moon-part-2-the-scargiver-new-trailer-netflix/ |website=ComicBook.com}}
Music
Composer Tom Holkenborg returns to compose the score for Part Two: The Scargiver, who served as composer for Part One: A Child of Fire. In March 2024, it was announced that a track list named "Songs of the Rebellion" would be released, based on the characters from the Rebel Moon universe. It features several artists, including Jessie Reyez, Tokischa, Tainy, Aespa, Tokimonsta, Black Coffee, and Kordhell. It was released on April 5, 2024.{{Cite magazine |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=20 March 2024 |title=Jessie Reyez, Tainy, aespa, TOKiMONSTA & More Featured on 'Rebel Moon – Part Two' EP |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/rebel-moon-part-two-ep-tracklist-netflix-movie-zack-snyder-1235637084/ |magazine=Billboard}}
Release
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver was released in select theaters in the United States for a week on April 12, 2024, and was released by Netflix on April 19, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Hibberd |first=James |date=18 March 2024 |title='Rebel Moon Part 2: The Scargiver' Official Trailer Released by Netflix |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/rebel-moon-part-2-the-scargiver-trailer-netflix-zack-snyder-1235854618/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}
A novelization based on the director's cut of the film written by V. Castro was published by Titan Books on June 4, 2024.{{Cite web |title=Rebel Moon Part Two - The Scargiver: The Official Novelization |url=https://titanbooks.com/71769-rebel-moon-the-official-movie-novelization/ |access-date=July 29, 2024 |publisher=Titan Books |language=en}}
Reception
=Critical response=
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|16|3.8|117|Less a course correction than a compounding of everything that tangled up its predecessor, The Scargiver is an uninvolving space opera full of flat notes.|ref=yes|access-date=December 16, 2024}} {{MC film|35|28|ref=yes|access-date=May 9, 2024}}
Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film one out of four stars, saying that it "feels as anemic and negligible as the non-sexual scenes in a floppy, overproduced porno".{{Cite web |title=Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver |first=Simon |last=Abrams |date=2024-04-19 |website=RogerEbert.com |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rebel-moon-part-two-the-scargiver-2024-film-review |access-date=2024-04-22}} Bob Strauss of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the majority of the film "is not that much better than the derivative, sludgy first installment", but felt that the battle sequences of the final 45 minutes were enough to raise his overall assessment to two-and-a-half out of four stars.{{cite news |title=Review: 'Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver' improves on the drab first installment |first=Bob |last=Strauss |date=2024-04-19 |orig-date=2024-04-18 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/rebel-moon-part-two-review-19384632 |access-date=2024-04-24 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419222505/https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/rebel-moon-part-two-review-19384632 |archive-date=2024-04-19 |url-status=live}}{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rebel_moon_part_1_a_child_of_fire | title=Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire | Rotten Tomatoes | website=Rotten Tomatoes }}{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rebel_moon_part_two_the_scargiver | title=Rebel Moon: Part Two - the Scargiver | Rotten Tomatoes | website=Rotten Tomatoes }} David Ehrlich of IndieWire called the film a "catastrophic bore of a film".{{cite web |last1=Ehrlich |first1=David |title=Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver' Review: The Second Half of Zack Snyder's Sci-Fi Debacle Is Almost as Disastrous as the First |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/rebel-moon-part-two-the-scargiver-review-netflix-1234975535/ |website=www.indiewire.com |date=April 19, 2024 |publisher=Indiewire |access-date=19 April 2024}}
=Viewership=
After premiering April 19 on Netflix, the film garnered 21.4 million views in three days, making it the most viewed English-language film on the service from April 15 to 21;{{Cite web |title='Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver' Tops Netflix's Film Chart As 'Baby Reindeer' Stalks To Top Of TV List |last=White |first=Peter |date=2024-04-23 |website=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/zack-snyder-rebel-moon-scargiver-netflix-charts-1235892943/ |access-date=2024-04-23}} it was the third consecutive Netflix number one for Snyder, starting with Army of the Dead and continuing Rebel Moon{{'}}s first part. However, it would score 44.2 million viewership hours,{{cite web|url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10|title=Global Top 10 April 15-21 2024|publisher=Netflix|access-date=April 23, 2024}} marking a significant decline from the first part;{{cite news|url=https://www.cbr.com/rebel-moon-part-2-viewership-dropoff/|title=Rebel Moon 2 Suffers Viewership Dropoff From Part 1|first=Jodee|last=Brown|publisher=CBR.com|date=April 23, 2024|access-date=April 23, 2024}} part one was reported to have had 54.1 million viewership hours in its first three days.{{cite web|url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10?week=2023-12-24|title=Global Top 10 December 18-24 2023|publisher=Netflix|access-date=April 23, 2024}} The film stayed in first place with 18.8M views in its first full week of availability, which still counted as its own second week in first place, following its debut weekend.{{Cite web |last=Cobb |first=Kayla |date=2024-04-30 |title=Baby Reindeer Tops Netflix Top 10 With 22 Million Views |url=https://www.thewrap.com/baby-reindeer-netflix-ratings-top-10-second-week/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}} The week after that, the film slipped to third place with 6M views, as the film also earned an overall worldwide total of 46.2M views.{{Cite web |last=Campione |first=Katie |date=2024-05-07 |title='Baby Reindeer' Races Toward Netflix Most Popular List With Another Week As Most-Watched Title; 'A Man In Full' Debuts At No. 2 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/baby-reindeer-netflix-viewership-a-man-in-full-debut-1235907822/ |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Top 10 Movies on Netflix Right Now |url=https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=www.netflix.com}} According to Netflix's “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report", the film generated 55.8 million views from April 19 to June 30, 2024,{{Cite web |title=What We Watched the First Half of 2024 |url=https://about.netflix.com/en/news/what-we-watched-the-first-half-of-2024 |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=About Netflix |language=en}} and 10 million views from July 1 to December 31, 2024, while the R-rated director's cut version of the film generated 8.3 million views from August 2 to December 31, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=2025-02-26 |title=Netflix Viewing Up 5% in Second Half of 2024, ‘Squid Game 2’ Leads as Most-Watched TV Series |url=https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/netflix-viewing-reports-second-half-2024-squid-game-2-1236321284/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
= Accolades =
Future
In April 2024, co-writer Kurt Johnstad announced that though original plans were for a trilogy of movies, the franchise will eventually consist of a total of six films; explaining that the stories for each original installment have been expanded into two parts. The writer stated that the treatments are completed for the third and fourth movie and Snyder is currently writing the third film.{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/rebel-moon-franchise-six-parts-development-trilogy-kurt-johnstad/|work=ScreenRant|title=Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Franchise Expanding To 6 Movies In New Trilogy Approach, Says Writer|author=Bentz, Adam|date=April 17, 2024|access-date=April 17, 2024}} On the same day, Snyder stated that the total number of films in the series will either be four or six, depending on whether or not the second and third entries of the trilogy each get split into a two-part movie as well.{{cite web |last1=West |first1=Amy |title=Zack Snyder says he hopes to make "four or six" Rebel Moon movies: "I guess it's whether or not we make one or two each time" |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/zack-snyder-rebel-moon-six-movies/ |website=GamesRadar |access-date=19 April 2024 |language=en |date=18 April 2024}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Netflix title}}
- {{IMDb title}}
{{wikiquote|Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire}}
{{Zack Snyder}}
{{Authority control}}
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