10 Things To Expect From Rebel Moon’s Extended Version

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Rebel Moon: Part 1 – A Child of Fire (including the extended edition).

Zack Snyder is famous for longer, more hardcore director’s cuts, and Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire is no exception. While Snyder’s shorter theatrical cuts are usually seen as proof of studio meddling and creative compromise, Snyder insists he actually worked with Netflix from the beginning to intentionally craft two unique versions of Rebel Moon, one two-hour PG-13 version, and one three-hour R-rated version.

With Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire, the R-rated cut is Snyder’s “pure” version, featuring more sex, violence, characters, and story. The extended director’s cut isn’t due to arrive on Netflix until the summer of 2024, several months after the arrival of Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver on April 19, 2024, but the plot of the novelization gives a tease of what to expect from the extended version of Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire.

Rebel Moon’s Extended Cut Won’t Have As Much Extra Backstory as You Think

Some characters are more fleshed-out, but many will have their backstory revealed in the sequel.

Kora (Sofia Boutella) is the only main character to get any serious backstory established in Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire, but despite having an hour-longer runtime, the extended cut isn’t necessarily going to give the same treatment to other characters like General Titus (Djimon Honsou) or Nemesis (Bae Doona) or any of the other warriors hired to defend Veldt. Snyder has already revealed most of the backstory will be revealed in Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver in April 2024, and the novelization of Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire only provides small teases about backstory for most characters other than Jimmy.

The Director’s Cut of Rebel Moon Has a Lot More World-Building

We’ll learn a lot more about the Imperium and the history of the Motherworld and other cultures.

The extended R-rated cut of Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire will have a lot more world-building. Naturally, with more runtime and more story and more dialogue, more details about the world will be shared, so even if there aren’t any additional lore dumps or explicit major reveals, the world is going to expand. In addition to the expanded details provided by the longer runtime, however, more details on Kora’s past and Balisarius and the Royal Family and the Imperium and many other details will help paint an even richer canvas as the backdrop of the rest of the story of Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire.

Rebel Moon’s Director’s Cut Has More R-Rated Sex

The tentacle scene with Noble was cut down for the PG-13 version

The PG-13 cut of Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire cut out a lot of sex. In the PG-13 cut, the village gathering from the beginning where Sindri (Corey Stoll) urges them to “make love” because the “thrusting of hips” would help their crops grow. In the novelization, this moment is far more explicit, as is Kora’s rendevous with Den (Stuart Marin). Additionally, the PG-13 cut teased a moment where Admiral Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) hooked his body up to a sort of hookah and had tentacles wrapped themselves around his neck. The R-rated version of this scene will be a lot more awkward if it’s anything like the novelization…

There’s a Completely Different Opening Sequence in Rebel Moon’s Extended Cut

Admiral Noble invades the planet Toa.

Zack Snyder already teased “a whole other opening that’s all Ed [Skrein]. It’s really crazy.” The novelization’s first chapter reveals the details of this sequence, featuring Admiral Noble and the Imperium landing on the planet Toa in their hunt for the Bloodaxe siblings. When King Heron refuses, Noble bombards the planet from space, reducing most of it to rubble before launching an invasion force, personally confronting the royal family, who he has killed in brutal fashion. The scene teases Noble’s brutality and sets up more of the Imperium soldiers and pattern of domination.

Rebel Moon’s Director’s Cut Will Be Way More Violent

Zack Snyder’s action will be more prevalent and bloodier in Rebel Moon’s extended cut.

It goes without saying that a longer, R-rated version of a Zack Snyder movie has a lot more violence, but that comes in two fashions for Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire. Some of the added violence comes from additional scenes featuring more battles and fights excluded from the PG-13 cuts, but the violence already featured in the PG-13 cut will also be more brutal, including more explicit injuries, blood, and gore.

Jimmy’s Cut Subplot Explains Where the Antlers Came From

Rebel Moon’s extended cut has more of Anthony Hopkins’ Jimmy!

Jimmy disappeared from the story after Kora and Gunnar leave Veldt in the PG-13 cut released by Netflix, yet when all the warriors return, he’s clearly gone through some sort of transformation as he stands in a field with a new antler headpiece, a cape, and a staff. The longer cut will show Jimmy’s full character arc explaining what happens to him, and it’s explained in the novelization. After Jimmy’s interaction with Sam, he’s moved to defend her in the granary battle, making him realize he can act outside his programming. He goes on a quest and finds Kora’s crashed starship, which he fixes, and dresses himself in new clothes and an antlered headpiece, symbolizing the organic nature of Veldt.

There’s a Lot More Sequel Set-Up in Rebel Moon’s Director’s Cut

Get ready for Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver!

As an explicitly titled “part 1” movie, Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire tells the first half of the Rebel Moon story, so a lot of the ending serves to set up Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver, which is set to arrive on Netflix on April 19, 2024. The added runtime of the extended cut will flesh out some subplots to help set up some side characters for the sequel. Jimmy’s aforementioned arc is part of the setup, while other villagers on Veldt get more screentime.

Some of Rebel Moon’s Side Characters Are More Important Than You Realized

Aris, Sam, and more get a lot more story in Rebel Moon’s extended cut.

Some of the side characters in Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire are much more important than the two-hour PG-13 cut revealed, and will have a bigger role to play in the sequel. For example, Aris, the young Imperium soldier who stands up to Markus to defend Jimmy and later tries to fight the other soldiers in the granary to defend Sam, is actually the son of King Heron from the alternate opening sequence. He’ll have a much bigger role in Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver, as will Sam, Den, and other villagers as they defend Veldt from Admiral Noble’s return.

Rebel Moon’s Director’s Cut Has More Planets and Locations

We see a lot more of the world of Rebel Moon.

Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire already includes a lot of planets and locations, but the extended cut will feature even more. For example, the novelization’s alternate opening reveals Noble’s visit to the planet Toa, while Kora and her team see more of Daggus, including a Blade Runner-esque noodle shop where they first meet Nemesis. Jimmy’s journey also includes more views of Veldt, including the forest and the waterfall, where Kora’s crashed ship is hidden.

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon Director’s Cut Deconstructs Genre Tropes

Snyder says it’ll be like “a different universe.”

Snyder has repeatedly teased a far more “crazy” and “extreme” extended cut, claiming it’d be “almost a different universe.” Rebel Moon already plays with genre tropes, but the extended R-rated director’s cut will go even further to deconstruct the genre elements of Rebel Moon in a way Snyder said was “Verhoevenesque,” comparing the extended cut to the satirical nature of movies like Robocop. While the PG-13 cut is a far more straightforward sci-fi/fantasy adventure, the R-rated cut could push the boundaries of what audiences expect from the numerous sci-fi/fantasy inspirations behind Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire.