Rebel Moon Director’s Cut Part One: Chalice of Blood is the brand-new renaming/rebranding of Zack Snyder’s magnum opus Rebel Moon via Netflix. It is Zack Snyder’s original uncompromised rated R version clocking in at an astounding 3hrs. 24mins. Both cuts were released August 2, 2024 via Netflix (more on part II later) in full 4K Dolby Vision/Dolby Atmos.

The summary of the Rebel Moon Part One: Chalice of Blood (originally subtitled A Child of Fire) is that of a remote village who harbors a former elite soldier from a ruthless empire that seeks subservience where ever it touches base on. Kora (Sofia Boutella) is that former elite soldier trying to live a low profile. Eventually, her village, as we’ve seen in the promotional materials. This empire led by General Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein) invades and obliterates most of the villagers. Seeing no other way, Kora decides to seek out a group of like-minded individuals to help in her quest against these forces.

Right off the bat the film starts off with an extended prologue featuring a character we will see more of throughout both films. It is set up to establish how brutal this invading force is. Amusingly, the vaginal labial folds of space (you will have to watch the opening minutes of the PG-13 to understand what I mean) that the empire’s dreadnought spaceship cuts through space in is deleted. There is no longer a voice-over by Anthony Hopkins as “Jimmy.” All of that is within the first 20-minutes or so of the first chapter. There is much more violence, brutality, gore, and sex peppered throughout the more than six hours of both chapters combined running time. For those wanting some “tentacle porn,” this new director’s cut features some of that, as well. You can even consider this a true live-action anime if you want. It’s quite outrageous.

I remember when the PG-13 cuts were released; so were the novelizations, written by V. Castro. I purchased them both upon release and in devouring the first novel I could immediately see that whenever the director’s cut versions came out, they would be close enough to what the novelizations were. I was right. Why, oh why, were these superior rated R versions not released to begin with? This is going to go down as one of the greatest Netflix blunders of all time.

Like the first director’s cut of Part One, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Curse of Forgiveness has also been retitled/rebranded. I will admit that when Rebel Moon Part II: The Scargiver was released this past April, it was not my favorite and I thought the pacing was godawful. Outside of the gorgeous visuals there was no way to spin it as anything but a mediocre exercise in futility.

Kora and her team of bandits have returned to the village to a much subdued welcome. She thinks that now that the empire has been defeated, she can rest on her laurels and live happily ever after. If it were only that simple. The empire has regrouped and is sending forth their legions of soldiers with advanced technology. The funny thing that the Rebel Moon films have a steampunk aesthetic. For instance, the giant dreadnought starship has a powerful cannon that is operated by an analog targeting system. Why would a ship that can travel in warp speed have analog equipment? Simple. Because it looks cool! Yeah, I get it, it may not be logical but it is neat. This is a world where analog, digital, and alchemy get tossed in a blender.

Now that Rebel Moon – Part Two has returned in an almost three-hour cut alone, some of the parts I hated in the PG-13 version still remain but just take longer to get to and to get through. What does lessen the blow and is a fair trade-off is that there are also many instances of added action and more character development. It also has an ending that is less abrupt than the previous edition that essentially ended with a smash cut to credits. Jimmy’s arc, particularly, is fleshed out and he’s made a complete character instead of magically appearing and disappearing when the story calls for it.

With that being said, this new director’s cuts of Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon fill in the brutal and violent gaps left out by the foolish marketing geniuses at Netflix that thought it was a good idea to release PG-13 neutered versions of the films a few months ago. Take note movie and streaming studios out there – release it right the first time, because folks are less forgiving and will think twice about dedicating a large block of time to watch “corrected” longer versions. I have a feeling that Netflix thought they could capitalize on the whole Snyder Cut edition of Justice League drama. As fatigued with superhero films as I am, Rebel Moon is technically an original IP, so it’s a large gamble doing it the way that they did. Most have not, and unfortunately, will not give these superior editions a chance. I’d rethink that stance, because even the harshest of critics are backtracking on their earlier positions.

Personally, I can’t wait to see what Zack Snyder does next. Rebel Moon Director’s Cut Chapter One: Chalice of Blood & Rebel Moon Director’s Cut Chapter Two: Curse of Forgiveness is highly recommended. Ignore the PG-13 versions unless you want to do side-by-side comparisons. The rated R versions is where it’s at! On a separate side note that will enhance the overall Rebel Moon experience there are several more books and graphic novels available for your reading pleasure. The first two novelizations by V. Castro are available wherever good books are sold. The prequel Rebel Moon: House of the Bloodaxe graphic novel is also available. There are two “art of” books focusing on the design of the films and they are gorgeous editions. The first one is called: Rebel Moon: Wolf: Ex Nihilo: Cosmology & Technology and the second volume is called: Rebel Moon: Wurm: Ex Materia: Heroes & Monsters.

Rebel Moon Director’s Cut Parts One & Two are streaming now on Netflix

• Rating Certificate: R (for brutal bloody violence and gore, sexual content, graphic nudity and language)
• Studios & Distributors: Grand Electric | Stone Quarry | Netflix
• Director: Zack Snyder
• Written By: Zack Snyder
• Country: USA
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Run Time: 204 Mins. (Chapter I) | 174 Mins. (Chapter II)
• Release Date: 2 Aug 2024