Does Zack Snyder even want you to watch the PG-13 cut of Rebel Moon hitting Netflix tomorrow?
The ultimate PR move.
Rebel Moon: Part One is about to finally hit Netflix, but Zack Snyder is already saying his longer, R-rated cut is much better.
This isn't the first time the divisive filmmaker has teased his director's cut is way deeper and more engrossing, but doubling down on basically saying "what's about to drop isn't the movie I set out to make" is a weird strategy to adopt this early. As he said in his interview with AP, most of his past movies received a meatier cut after their respective theatrical runs, and it's quite apparent the director always tries to go as big and dark as possible, but this time around, he knew from the get-go he could shoot a longer and more mature cut that he'd have to save for later.
He even goes as far as saying the cut that's coming next year is a "completely different movie" from a "different universe." If we're looking at another 'Zack Snyder's Justice League scenario' here, the movie could go from very rotten to widely liked. Right now, Rebel Moon: Part One has only received a thumbs-up from 25% of the Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics.
For Netflix, this makes a lot of sense: Bank on the post-Zack Snyder's Justice League hype and chatter and make subscribers quadruple-dip (Part 2 of Rebel Moon is coming out in 2024 too). That was always the plan. However, we must question the usefulness of hyping the director's cut up right before you release the introduction to Snyder's brand-new sci-fi universe.
The average Netflix user will likely jump into the PG-13 cut of Part One during the winter holidays, but folks who are curious but have been burned before by the watered-down cuts of Batman v Superman and especially Justice League are likely to wait for the unfiltered vision of the auteur-driven blockbuster.