There’s a Reason Why ‘Rebel Moon’ Is So Similar to ‘Star Wars’

With Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire out in theaters and hitting Netflix on December 22, many are wondering about the film’s connection to Star Wars. Why? Because it is undeniable that the film was influenced by the galaxy far, far away.

More than just being a space opera that starts on a planet dedicated to a single resource (in Rebel Moon‘s case, farming) and turning the Luke Skywalker-esque Kora (Sofia Boutella) into more of a badass from the start, all of these connections to the Star Wars universe are not necessarily coincidences. Mainly because of how the film was originally conceived by creator and director Zack Snyder.

The film, which stars Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, and Ray Fisher, centers on a ragtag group of rebels as they build a team to fight back against the fascist Motherworld—which feels very much like the rebels fighting against the Empire at times. Which makes sense because Snyder originally conceived Rebel Moon as a Star Wars project.

The filmmaker then decided to turn the project into its own franchise. Rebel Moon will exist as part of a larger universe, starting with A Child of Fire, followed by The Scargiver in April. Snyder has plans to expand his vision, but it doesn’t erase the questions many have about Rebel Moon‘s attachment to the Star Wars franchise.

Rebel Moon was originally pitched as a Star Wars film

Originally, Snyder wanted to make Rebel Moon as part of the Star Wars universe. Which makes sense when you watch the film and see how the rebels play a part in the fight against the Motherworld. But Snyder says that when Lucasfilm rejected his pitch for the movie, his producing partner (and wife) Deborah Snyder encouraged him to continue working on the film.

“When it turned out that wasn’t gonna work out, my wife and producing partner Deborah said to me, ‘This is the best news that you possibly could have gotten,’” Snyder said in an interview. “The process of creating this world, though exhausting and very time consuming – and really the amount of detail is insane – has been incredibly rewarding because it does give you the ability to deconstruct sci-fi icons and tropes that you’re used to.”

So in the process of crafting his original pitch to Lucasfilm, Snyder ended up creating his own world for Rebel Moon. The influences of Star Wars are undeniable because they were still there from his pitch. Beyond some basic similarities, Rebel Moon does stand on its own as an original work and a new and exciting universe for fans to explore. We have so few new entries in the space opera genre, and I’m excited to see what The Scargiver brings.

(featured image: Netflix)