Traditionally a director’s cut is a way for a filmmaker to show the public their preferred version of a particular film. Studios often cut movies their own way, either for content or for creative differences. In the DVD age, director’s cuts, or “Unrated Cuts” would offer fans of movies a little extra. These could be just a few more minutes cut for time, or more salacious elements that would have cost it an R rating. Until Zack Snyder’s Rebel MoonOpens in a new tab, however, I’ve never heard of a movie touting its director’s cut alongside the, I dunno, non-director’s cut? It’s Netflix; why wouldn’t you just release the longer cut to begin with?
At any rate, Netflix has released new images for the director’s cut, which Zack Snyder kept saying would have more sex and violence. Evidently, they’ve decided the films are different enough that they have new titles. Rebel Moon – Chapter One: Chalice of BloodOpens in a new tab and Rebel Moon – Chapter Two: Curse of ForgivenessOpens in a new tab.
Both films will drop on Netflix August 2. The original part one, A Child of FireOpens in a new tab, has a 21% critics score and 57% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Part two, The ScargiverOpens in a new tab, has a 15% and 48%, respectively. Not sure how much more graphic violence or nudity can fix story and character problems, but maybe it will. The director’s cut of part one will be 67 minutes longer, while the director’s cut of part two will be 48 minutes longer.
This of course raises the question…why didn’t you just release them how you wanted to begin with? Was it just for the hype? The world may never know. (But it was that.)
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser FocusOpens in a new tab. You can find his film and TV reviews hereOpens in a new tab. Follow him on InstagramOpens in a new tab and LetterboxdOpens in a new tab.
