Zack Snyder’s ‘Star Wars’ Pitch Was Rated-R: ‘That Was Almost a Non-Starter’

Wilson Chapman
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This December, Netflix will release their second original film from Zack Snyder, space opera “Rebel Moon.” But the movie almost had a very different fate — it began life as an idea from the director for a new “Star Wars” film, which he pitched to Lucasfilm shortly after the sale of the company to Disney in 2012. And according to Snyder, that pitch was a bit of a non-starter, in part due to his insistence that the film should be R-Rated.

In an interview with Empire Magazine, Snyder reminisced about pitching a new “Star Wars” film to Lucasfilm, saying that he made the pitch because ““There was that window where, you know, who knows what’s possible?” However, he said the pitch failed to get off the ground due to his requirements for the film, which included focusing on a completely new set of characters and going for a mature, R-rated tone.

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I was like, ‘I don’t want any of your characters. I don’t want to do anything with any known characters, I just want to do my own thing on the side,'” Snyder told Empire. “And originally I was like, ‘It should be rated R!’ That was almost a non-starter.”

After the pitch didn’t go anywhere, Snyder — then best known for “Dawn of the Dead,” “300,” and “Watchmen” — joined Warner Bros. to help establish the “DC Extended Universe,” by directing Superman film “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” He left production on “Justice League” following the death of his teenage daughter, but later returned to the film for his “Snyder Cut” version. Following leaving DC, he directed “Army of the Dead” for Netflix, and eventually redeveloped his “Star Wars” pitch into what became “Rebel Moon.”

“I knew it was a big ask, to be honest,” Snyder said about the initial “Star Wars” pitch. “But the deeper I got into it, I realised it was probably never going to be what I wanted.” He ended up getting what he wanted with “Rebel Moon,” albeit with some compromise; the film will initially be released with a PG-13 rated cut onto Netflix, with an extended R-rated version of the film coming to the platform later on.

Snyder directs “Rebel Moon” from a script he cowrote with Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten. The film — which features an ensemble cast including Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, Jena Malone, Fra Fee, Ed Skrein, and Anthony Hopkins — will release on Netflix December 22, and will also receive a limited theatrical release. A second film, “Rebel Moon Part 2,” was shot back-to-back with the original; a release date has yet to be announced for the follow-up.

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