Zack Snyder’s new Netflix movie Rebel Moon is based on a rejected Star Wars pitch

Top director Zack Snyder’s next big budget Netflix project, Rebel Moon, has unusual origins - from a galaxy far, far away.

Zack Snyder‘s collaboration with Netflix is flying off to a galaxy far, far away.

The Justice League director has set his next project at the streamer, an epic sci-fi fantasy titled Rebel Moon that he is co-writing, directing, and producing.

Netflix was the home of his most recent hit, Army of the Dead, a zombie apocalypse film, and it appears that more action is in store for the pairing.

Snyder will co-write Rebel Moon with Army co-screenwriter Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, who co-wrote Snyder’s legendary 300, set in Ancient Greece. He will produce with wife and producing partner Deborah Snyder via the duo’s Stone Quarry, along with Wesley Coller. Eric Newman, a longtime collaborator with Snyder, will produce via his Grand Electric Banner, with Sara Bowen also attached to executive produced.

RELATED: Reviews are in for Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Star Wars might not have been keen, but fans will still get to see Snyder’s next project. Picture: AFP

RELATED: Alternate Justice League plot will blow your mind

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will take place “when a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy is threatened by the armies of a tyrannical regent named Balisarius. Desperate people dispatch a young woman with a mysterious past to seek out warriors from neighbouring planets to help them make a stand.”

“This is me growing up as an Akira Kurosawa fan, a Star Wars fan,” Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s my love of sci-fi and a giant adventure. My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out.”

Rebel Moon sprouted from a rejected Star Wars pitch the filmmaker developed a decade ago. After the Walt Disney Company acquired LucasFilm in 2012, the project didn’t move beyond any meaningful conversations. At one point, Snyder and Newman nearly attempted to make it into a series. Still, they persisted in creating a feature film, and Netflix has hopped on board.

Snyder said he hopes the movie will become “a universe that can be built out.” Picture: Getty

RELATED: Zack Snyder’s Justice League - four endings explained

Snyder reworked the idea with Johnstad as he was creating Army of the Dead, with the co-writer of that film, Hatten, attached to assist. Hatten has become a sought-after writer in Hollywood after developing the world of John Wick in the saga’s third, fourth, and fifth instalments for Lionsgate.

Stay tuned for more updates on Rebel Moon and Snyder’s other upcoming projects.

This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.