Rebel Moon to premiere early on Netflix in “special” release

Leon Miller
Doona Bae as Nemesis in Rebel Moon

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire will arrive on Netflix earlier than its originally scheduled December 22 release.

Rebel Moon famously started as a pitch for an edgy Star Wars movie, before Snyder retooled the project as a standalone property.

It tells the story of freedom fighter Kora (Sofia Boutella), who leads an uprising against the Rebel Moon universe’s villainous overlords, the Motherworld.

Snyder has overseen two versions of the film: a 134-minute, PG-13 theatrical cut and an extended, R-rated director’s cut.

Rebel Moon to premiere early on Netflix in “special” release

Netflix subscribers will have access to the first of these Rebel Moon variants sooner than expected. As revealed by Snyder himself on X, Rebel Moon will now debut on December 21 at 7pm PT.

Snyder didn’t elaborate further on Rebel Moon’s fast-tracked premiere, other than to frame it as a “special early release.” The filmmaker signed off by hyping the sci-fi blockbuster’s debut, encouraging fans to start a countdown.

Reaction to Snyder’s post was predictably feverish. “Can’t wait to watch it!” enthused one X user. “I stayed up until the early morning hours to watch [Zack Snyder’s Justice League] when it debuted,” added another. “Staying up until midnight for #RebelMoon will be no problem.”

That said, at least a few fans expressed disappointment that Netflix was bumping up the PG-13 Rebel Moon release, and not the director’s cut. “Can you release the 3-hour directors cut soon after?” implored one post.

“The short or the long one? Can anyone actually answer this?” echoed a second. “Would love to know so I can plan a watch party with friends and I don’t plan to do that for the shorter version of it…”

Zack Snyder talks up Rebel Moon’s “adult” cut

These fans’ fixation on the Rebel Moon director’s cut is understandable, given Snyder has talked up this version of his space opera in multiple interviews. Notably, the filmmaker described the expanded version of the movie as being aimed at more mature audiences.

“I think for fans of mine and people who are ready to take a deeper, harder dive, that’ll be fun for them,” Snyder said of the Rebel Moon director’s cut.

Find out more about Rebel Moon’s cast, plot, release date, trailers, and more here.