Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Is Headed to Theaters, But With a Catch

Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon is headed to theaters – but there is a catch. 

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire will get a theatrical release from December 15th-21st before it makes its official debut on Netflix on December 22nd. However, Rebel Moon will only be showing in theaters equipped for 70mm presentations. The list of locations includes several Netflix-owned theaters like the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, and Paris Theater in NYC, as well as Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox and London's Prince Charles Cinema. 

Netflix has put out other big theatrical release campaigns for its big blockbuster film releases – including Snyder's most recent project, the action-horror film Army of the Dead. However, the choice to give Rebel Moon a much smaller release in 70mm theaters has raised some questions. Some of the speculation is that Netflix is really leaning into Rebel Moon being a major blockbuster franchise draw for the streaming service during the all-important Christmas Holiday window. 

That said, this is still a win for all those cinephile fans who wanted to see Snyder's latest visual extravaganza in the true glory of a larger movie screen. When the Rebel Moon trailer dropped, one fo the first big responses was a social media hashtag that read "Rebel Moon in theaters", clearly showing there was a market for those wanting the true cinematic experience for this IP. 

What Is Rebel Moon About?

In Rebel Moon: Part One: A Child of Fire, when a peaceful settlement on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Motherworld, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a new army of heroes is formed.

Rebel Moon stars Sofia Boutella, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Jena Malone, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Skrein, and more. Snyder has teased that Rebel Moon and  Army of the Dead both exist in one Netflix Universe.

Rebel Moon hits theaters from December 15th-21st. Rebel Moon Part 2 is in the works.