There’s a new queen in town. Ahsoka has now premiered on Disney Plus to rave reviews, with the first two episodes scoring a 93 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a consensus forming that, at least this time, Disney and Lucasfilm have knocked it out of the park.
But Ahsoka isn’t the only fantasy-inspired space opera making headlines. Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon released its first full trailer, showcasing dazzling visuals, a stacked cast, and confirmation that the two parts (A Child of Fire and The Scargiver) will release just months apart.
So, does Star Wars have anything to be worried about? Well, Rebel Moon has set its sights on improving on one of the most iconic weapons in a galaxy far, far away, and many conclude it’s succeeded:
Though these look like lightsabers, they’re actually far more badass, as Snyder explained In an interview with Vanity Fair.
“The gauntlets are these ancient [artifacts] from her home world, and part of the rite of passage of being a warrior in her world is you have to cut your arm off, and then you put these kind of robot arms on. That allows you to wield these molten-metal blades.”
Of course, the obvious visual similarities aren’t a coincidence. Rebel Moon began life as Snyder’s pitch to Lucasfilm for a standalone Star Wars movie that would have been set outside the Skywalker Saga and featured an entirely original cast of characters. Discussions were underway in the late 2000s and early 2010s, though came to an abrupt end with Disney purchased Lucasfilm and began planning the Sequel Trilogy.
Whatever the case, fans certainly seem happy with the result:
There have recently been grumblings that Star Wars lightsabers have gotten worse:
We eagerly await the final product:
Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire will arrive on Dec. 22, 2023, and Part 2: The Scargiver on Apr. 19, 2024.