The Big Picture

Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon is a Star Wars-inspired universe with a stacked cast and the director’s signature style. The story begins on a rural farming planet where a mysterious stranger must recruit fighters to lead a revolution against a tyrannical force. In an interview, Sofia Boutella and Ed Skrein discuss their characters, their favorite Snyder movie (Watchmen), and memorable scenes from Rebel Moon.

In the days leading up to the Netflix premiere of Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, we’re learning all we can about this Star Wars-inspired universe known as Motherworld. The passion project of Snyder’s is now an ever-expanding original IP that’s debuting with a stacked cast and more of the director’s signature style his fans love.

Rebel Moon begins on a rural farming planet, Veldt, on the outskirts of the galaxy. Here, a mysterious stranger, Kora, played by Sofia Boutella, crash lands and learns the way of the people, leaving a tortured past behind. Kora’s newfound peace is short-lived, however, when the tyrranical Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee) and his malicious Admiral Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) learn that the citizens of Veldt have sold crops to a family of Motherworld rebels, the Bloodaxes. In an effort to stand up against Balisarius’ armies, Kora must embark on a mission to recruit a band of fighters to lead a revolution. Rebel Moon also stars Academy Award-winner Anthony Hopkins, Cleopatra Coleman, Djimon Hounsou, Charlie Hunnam, and more.

In an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Boutella and Skrein sit down to talk about how they were able to tap into their characters, who are each on opposite sides of the Rebel Moon spectrum. They share their favorite Snyder movie, which scenes from Part One and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver they’re most looking forward to audiences seeing, and discuss the heavy action in both. Skrein also shares how Deadpool director Tim Miller helped ease his nerves on set. Check out the full interview in the video above, or you can read the transcript below.

Rebel Moon When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, a mysterious stranger living among its villagers becomes their best hope for survival. Release Date December 22, 2023 Director Zack Snyder Studio Netflix

COLLIDER: You’ve been asked a lot of stuff about Rebel Moon. I like throwing some curveballs at the beginning, so besides Rebel Moon, if someone has never seen anything you’ve done before, what is the first thing you’d like them watching and why?

SOFIA BOUTELLA: I’d probably send them a dance video of mine from a million years ago.

That’s totally valid.

BOUTELLA: But movie-wise, I think I’d say Climax for various reasons. I’d say maybe Atomic Blonde.

ED SKREIN: I would say Ill Manors, which was my debut, the first film I ever made. I shot it with my friends in London in my community. It was the first time I ever acted in my life and it meant a lot to me. It still means a lot to me in terms of showing my community and my area, and all my friends are in it. So yeah, Ill Manors.

Tim Miller Eased Ed Skrein’s Imposter Synrome in ‘Deadpool’

What is the most nervous you’ve been the night before the first day of filming? It could be this project, but literally you’re about to go to set the next day and you’re like, “Oh f…”

SKREIN: I’d say Deadpool. I was really nervous because I’ve been reading Deadpool since I was, like, 10 years old. I used to go to the comic book fairs and collect them. I still got my comics from back in the day, so I was really nervous because I really wanted to do well. I think Tim [Miller] would say the same thing, that the first day I turned up a bit nervous. We joke about it now, but he came to me after, like, two weeks and was like, “I wanna let you know, you are enough and I want you to be you, and just be how you are when we’re just talking, messing around.” He really filled me with confidence and made me able to break through that kind of imposter syndrome. Then after that, I really did my best work. Some of my favorite scenes in it were even when I came back to Vancouver like six months or a year later for the reshoots, and it was like I was just super confident, loved all of the crew, loved Tim, and could hit the ground running. But yeah, that first day I was bricking it.

BOUTELLA: For me, it was definitely this project. I mean, I’m nervous before each first day of every production that I’ve been on, and even as a dancer, but I think it’s just a testimony of caring. I think for this project it’s because of the scale of it, the size of it, and nailing Kora, and to feel like I’m starting from a good place, and of understanding the character, which you keep finding the character constantly anyway. But I think, yeah, this one was pretty nerve-wracking.

I have an individual question for both of you. With this project you play a character that basically is the badass. When you walk in the room you can kick everyone’s ass and you need to make the audience believe it, so what is it like preparing for a role like that where you need to really believe that you are that person? And for you, you are playing a real villain and when you walk in the audience needs to fear you, so what are you doing before you’re stepping on set and during filming that makes it so you command that presence when you are on screen and in the room?

BOUTELLA: For Kora, the challenge was also, and what was for me as an actor interesting, is that she didn’t come from a place of wanting to be a badass, from wanting to be that person anymore. She used to be a soldier. She used to do things that she highly regrets and holds herself in a pretty dark place. She refuses to fight, that’s what she says at the beginning. She’s trying to run away basically. So it was interesting for me to play that color of being the badass but that doesn’t want any of that. But in order to do that, for me, it was just conditioning my soul with all of those colors basically, basically putting in me all the training that I have had from such a young age to be a soldier, and to be this person she has put behind her a long time ago.

SKREIN: You said to be able to command that kind of fear and such, it definitely wasn’t a direct intention of mine in that regard. For me, it’s about me understanding what the emotional state of being of the character in that scene is, and if I’ve got that, I’m super confident, and if I’m super confident I shall command that respect. Plus, I’ve got a spaceship behind me, I’ve got an army, I’ve got priests. I’m wearing tailored stuff, stepping onto a dusty village. You feel this way – knee-high leather boots, you know? Kinky. But you feel that way. You know that when you step into a movie that the costume department, the makeup department, and then after that Tom Holkenborg, Junkie XL, is gonna accentuate the emotion, so they’re gonna help you so much. Really, what you need to be is secure and confident in your emotional state of being for that scene. It’s the same if I’m preparing to be a washed up pop star or an East London drug dealer. Whatever it is, understand what the emotional requirement of the scene is and then just step in there, step in there with confidence and it shall be.

BOUTELLA: That’s the thing, Kora, she’s not confident that they can win this at all. After that, I think it’s just the cause that I’m defending in the film, defending the less equipped, the ones that need it the most, and the cause from the first scene that is very important, that keeps happening to people and women in general.

This Zack Snyder Film Is a Game-Changer

Besides Rebel Moon, I’m a big fan of Zack Snyder and his filmography. If someone has never seen a Zack Snyder movie, what’s the film they should start with?

BOTH: Watchmen.

BOUTELLA: His cut.

SKREIN: A million percent. It’s the greatest, man. It changed the game. I remember when it came out, like 15 years ago or something.

BOUTELLA: I really like Alan Moore, and I have this book at home that I’ve had for a long time called Lost Girls. Anyway, I just thought it was such a good take on Watchmen.

SKREIN: Alan Moore, British legend. One of the greatest. Why are there so many good comic book writers from England, man?

It’s the water and the weather.

BOUTELLA: Do you think?

No, I’m joking.

SKREIN: But you know what’s interesting is I saw someone talking about parallels with Grant Morrison and [Neil] Gaiman and Moore, and all these people, that so many of them were informed so much by Thatcher’s Britain and how oppressive it was, and also so many of them grew up near power stations and nuclear power stations, and the backdrop of the Cold War, and had this idea that the world could end. So they had these apocalyptic ideas mixed with these post-war British sensibilities. It’s like a really interesting notion.

‘Rebel Moon’ Stars Share Their Favorite Scenes from Part One and Two

I’m just about out of time, so I wanna ask real fast for both of you, what is the scene in both Part One and Part Two that you cannot wait for audiences to see?

BOUTELLA: I said that before, for me, I just have such a dreamy and powerful feel from the very last scene between Balisarius and Noble. I’ve had the photo that Zack drew in my trailer for the longest time. I had images from so many different scenes, but this one, there’s something special about it because it takes place on a frozen lake and the koi fish underneath it, and just the color, the grading of this whole scene and what it is about and what it says. I remember loving that scene. I couldn’t wait to see it, and when I saw it, it marked me. From movie number two… A part of me forgets what happened in number two because I haven’t seen it yet. We haven’t seen it.

SKREIN: We haven’t seen it, but my answer for number two was gonna be — I don’t want to give it away, but you can assume there’s gonna be more action. Me and Sofia got to do some “dancing” as such in number two, and I’m really excited for that. But also, the build up to that, there’s many little “dances” happening, let’s say, which I’m super hyped about.

BOUTELLA: In a more sentimental way, there is a scene in movie number two where we’re all gathered before the final fight, and the core of the army, which is the rebels, get together and share something very personal about themselves. I remember shooting that scene and how everybody poured their heart and soul into that moment. I haven’t seen it, but I can’t wait to see this moment. I feel like it’s gonna carry movie number two on a deeper level and join everybody together, but also make people understand everyone. I think it joins everything, that scene. That’s how I saw it when I worked on it, so I can’t wait to see it. I look forward to it.

SKREIN: I remember reading that scene in the screenplay and being like, “Damn, this is deep. This is gonna be an amazing one to shoot.” It’s kind of like an actor’s dream, to be honest, a conversational piece.

BOUTELLA: It makes you care so much about what unfolds after.

SKREIN: I remember when you guys were shooting it, and I obviously wasn’t on that day, and I remember thinking, “I hope it goes well for them. I hope they enjoy it because this is some deep stuff.” But very quickly, my scene from Part One, which I can’t wait for people to see, and especially in the extended cut, is the scene in my bedchambers with the alien tentacles, which is not so deep and profound.

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is available to stream on Netflix later today.

Watch on Netflix