Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire.

Summary

Staz Nair reveals that Charlie Hunnam’s character Kai’s betrayal in Rebel Moon upset the cast due to their strong bond. The intense training regime led to a sense of camaraderie among the cast, which made Kai’s betrayal even more difficult. Despite Kai’s apparent death, it’s possible he could return in future Rebel Moon installments through flashbacks or a prequel of some kind.

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire star Staz Nair reveals a big twist that upset the movie’s cast because of how close they became. Heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, Rebel Moon sees Sofia Boutella’s former soldier Kora recruit a ragtag group of heroes to help protect her adopted homeworld from the nefarious Admiral Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein). Throughout the movie, however, Charlie Hunnam’s roguish pilot Kai betrays Kora and her team in exchange for the hefty bounties placed on their heads.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Nair revealed how Kai’s shocking betrayal upset his fellow castmates due to their incredible behind-the-scenes bond. Sharing that the cast developed “an inevitable level of camaraderie” due to the intense training regime director Zack Snyder put them through, he said Kai’s betrayal “really did suck.” Many in the cast would also joke that Snyder’s planned extended cut would reveal the existence of Kai’s identical twin brother. Check out Nair’s comments below:

For sure. This is again a testament to Zack’s ethos and how he works. By putting us in training together, there was an inevitable level of camaraderie that was naturally forged through “suffering of solidarity,” as I like to say. There was this shared experience and shared struggle, and boy, was it a necessary struggle. It looked fantastic and inevitably brought us very close. The team made jokes about the fact that in the extended cut, there may or may not be a line where [Kai] goes, “Well, if you think I’m handsome, you should see my twin brother.” So we forged this wonderful bond, collectively. I even had some of the actors come to my wedding. Charlie and I really got along very well, and it started with those [training] conditions. And so [Kai’s betrayal] really did suck. I know everyone says, “Oh, the cast is amazing! I love them! They’re the best! We really bonded,” but I know it reflects in our behind-the-scenes. I know it reflects in the relationships that exist on screen as well, and Zack just knows how to collect beautiful, wickedly weird and wonderful people.

How Charlie Hunnam’s Kai Can Return in Future Rebel Moon Installments

Killed by Michiel Huisman’s Gunnar during the fight that breaks out on the moon of Gondival, Kai’s apparent death in Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire would seem to indicate the character will not be returning for the movie’s forthcoming Part Two. However, given Snyder’s expansive plans for his new science fiction franchise, it may be too early to discount all future appearances from Hunnam’s duplicitous character.

Related Every Death In Rebel Moon Part One (& Can Any Return In Part Two?) Rebel Moon: Part 1 – A Child of Fire introduces many central characters, both dead and alive. Here are all who died in Rebel Moon’s first installment.

Created in the same vein as other iconic sci-fi opportunists such as Star Wars’ Lando Calrissian, Hunnam’s Kai was easily one of the more intriguing and well-developed characters in a movie that sometimes struggled to flesh out the assorted histories and motivations of its other key roles. While Kai’s death may allow for other heroes like Nair’s Tarak to assume more of the spotlight in Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver’s story, Snyder has already proven that death is not always permanent in his sci-fi universe.

Though it is unlikely Imperium forces would seek to resurrect Kai in the same manner as they did Admiral Noble, Synder may still elect to return to the character via additional flashbacks or similar narrative devices. Moreover, with Humnam himself revealing he would be open to reprising the character for a Rebel Moon spinoff, Synder may even look to give the character his own prequel movie or show somewhere later down the line. Either way, audiences may still get to see more of Hunnam’s Kai even after his well-deserved death in Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire.

Source: THR

Rebel Moon From director Zack Snyder comes Rebel Moon, a sci-fi action movie set in the depths of space and following a colony that is facing the threat of Regent Balisarius. Sofia Boutella plays a warrior charged with recruiting others in the fight against the tyrant, and his unstoppable forces that are dead set on conquest.  Release Date December 22, 2023 Cast Djimon Hounsou , Sofia Boutella , Charlotte Maggi , Ray Fisher , Jena Malone , E. Duffy , Staz Nair , Doona Bae , Sky Yang , Charlie Hunnam , Cleopatra Coleman Rating PG-13 Budget $90 Million Studio(s) The Stone Quarry , Grand Electric Distributor(s) Netflix

Key Release Dates Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver