Rebel Moon Part 1 Recap

This Rebel Moon article contains spoilers.

Love him or hate him, you cannot deny Zack Snyder garners more attention than most filmmakers working today. It’s no surprise that his fans have been champing at the bit to see his the second part of his dark sci-fi epic, which it titled Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver.

Snyder debuted Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Light in December. That film introduced viewers to a futuristic science fiction world, drawing from beloved tropes about scrappy rebels, mysterious prophecies, and a totalitarian empire. The movie pulls ideas from Star Wars, the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa, and Frank Herbert’s Dune imbues them with his signature gritty style to create something that feels very nerdy and very Snyder.

While A Child of Light met with mixed reviews, the second part could make up for that, while also answering some of the biggest questions left over from part one. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Netflix release…

When Does Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver Come Out?

The second part of Rebel Moon will hit Netflix on Friday, April 19 at 3:00am EST/12:00am PT on April 19th. The movie will be available via Netflix worldwide, meaning people in the UK will get to enjoy the film at the same time as their American cousins, at 8 am GMT.

While you wait, whet your appetite by watching this trailer from Netflix:

What Happened in Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire?

A Child of Fire introduced viewers to a motley band of freedom fighters, discovered by a pair of reluctant heroes, the farmer Gunnar (Michiel Huisman) and the mysterious Kora (Sofia Boutella). The two decide to take action against the all-powerful Motherworld Imperium after Admiral Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein), right-hand man to the cruel emperor Balisarius (Fra Fee), arrives in their humble village on the moon of Veldt with an occupation force and forces the villagers to promise their upcoming harvest to the evil empire. Giving up all their of grain for free to the Imperium will of course ruin the village, but they have little choice unless Gunnar and Kora can recruit warriors to defend Veldt.

Although Noble leaves the village, he promises to return in 10 weeks for the grain. Gunnar and Kora leave Veldt in search of mercenaries to help them. The quest brings them to disgraced Imperial general Titus (Djimon Hounsou), the scoundrel Kai (Charlie Hunnam), beast master Tarak (Staz Nair), and a cybernetic sword-wielder called Nemesis (Doona Bae).

There’s also the robot knight named Jimmy (voiced by Anthony Hopkins) who actually arrives with the Imperium but goes AWOL after saving one of the villagers from a group of Imperium soldiers. He doesn’t join Kora and Gunnar’s mission by the end of the movie, but you can bet he’ll make an appearance in Part Two.

The movie also reveals Kora’s dark secret: she was once one of the fiercest warriors of the Imperium before she went into hiding on Veldt. After he slayed her family, Balisarius kidnapped Kora and made her his daughter, dubbing her “Arthelais.” As Arthelais, she fought for the Imperium, eventually becoming bodyguard to Princess Issa (Stella Grace Fitzgerald). Issa wielded magical powers and promised to bring peace to Motherworld, but an assassin ended her life. Disgraced, Arthelais escaped to the far moon of Veldt to hide out as Kora. So defending Veldt is also a bit of a redemption quest for Kora.

In the third act of the film, the group meets the rebel leaders fighting against the Imperium across the galaxy, siblings Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe (Cleopatra Coleman and Ray Fisher). Together with the Bloodaxes, the heroes launch an attack on Noble’s forces, freeing the Imperium’s prisoners. The fight costs Darrian his life, but Kora manages to kill Noble, putting a stop to the Imperium’s invasion of Veldt before it can even happen. Or so she believes.

However, the first part ends with Imperium scientists resurrecting Noble. Balisarius orders Noble to bring Kora to him so that he can execute his adopted daughter by his own hand…

What to Expect in Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver?

In The Scargiver, Kora and her friends return to Veldt, thinking that they’ve ended the threat by killing Noble. But even if A Child of Light didn’t end with Noble’s resurrection, Snyder has prepared fans for what to expect from the second part. “It’s a war film, 100 percent,” he told Empire Magazine, promising even more violence and battles than the first movie.

Of course, the second part of Rebel Moon will build to a confrontation between Kora and the resurrected Noble. Snyder has been very open about the influence of Star Wars on Rebel Moon, so the battle between the villager-turned-rebel and her evil father could end with a victory for the heroes. Then again, Snyder also made movies in which the usually compassionate Superman executes his enemies, so Rebel Moon might have a much darker ending in store for its ensemble. Either way, you should expect a lot of death in The Scargiver…