Is it possible that Rebel Moon 3 may have been canceled by Netflix? One Snyder collaborator hints that this may be so.
Netflix may have finally found the brakes on Zack Snyder’s slow-motion space trainwreck. Longtime Snyder collaborator and screenwriter Kurt Johnstad made it sound like the odds of Rebel Moon getting a third installment are somewhere between slim and “you better start praying.”
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 13: Zack Snyder attends the Netflix Premiere of Zack Snyder’s REBEL MOON – Part One: A Child of Fire at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 13, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)
In a recent appearance on the I MINUTEMEN podcast, Johnstad laid it bare.
“We outlined movies 3, 4, 5, and 6… very detailed outlines, and Zack has literally plotted out the whole world,” he said. “We know where we can go… we’ve written… detailed outlines. The second movie was to find the princess. And the third movie is to make sure that the princess is where she should be—sitting on the throne and properly ruling… over the Mother World.”
He then added, “With some luck and an act of God, we’ll get to go back to that world.”
Translation? Unless the heavens part and Netflix executives get struck by divine delusion, the Rebel Moon saga is likely over.
Viewership Is Falling Faster Than a Mother World Dropship
Despite an expensive media campaign and the kind of grandiose marketing usually reserved for actual hits, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver saw a steep decline in viewership compared to its predecessor. And that’s saying something, considering Part One: A Child of Fire wasn’t exactly Stranger Things.
REBEL MOON: (L-R) Sofia Boutella as Kora and Djimon Hounsou as Titus in Rebel Moon. Cr. Clay Enos/Netflix © 2023
While Scargiver briefly topped Netflix’s film chart upon release, its didn’t last long. Once the novelty wore off, audiences dropped off, and so did any lingering illusions that this was Netflix’s Star Wars.
Critics Used a Flamethrower Instead of a Pen
If viewership was shaky, critical reception buried the franchise alive.
The Scargiver currently boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 16%, with an average critic rating under 4/10. Reviews called it “uninvolving,” “flat,” and—perhaps most devastatingly—“more of the same.” Even the few defenders of Part One struggled to muster enthusiasm for a sequel that doubled down on the original’s flaws.
Rotten Tomatoes Scores for Rebel Moon 2 — The Scargiver – Rotten Tomatoes
The criticisms weren’t nitpicks either. Reviewers torched the dialogue, called the characters cardboard, and ridiculed the world-building as derivative cosplay. If the goal was to create a mythic sci-fi epic, Rebel Moon instead landed somewhere between bad Dune fanfic and a high school drama class with a green screen.
A $166 Million Lesson in When to Say No
Netflix shelled out an estimated $166 million for the first two films. That number doesn’t include marketing, which was extensive. For context, that’s the kind of investment you make when you think you’ve got a franchise juggernaut—not a streaming afterthought.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 13: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Image has been digitally enhanced.) Zack Snyder attends the Netflix Premiere of Zack Snyder’s REBEL MOON – Part One: A Child of Fire at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 13, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emilio Madrid/Getty Images for Netflix)
Now, with a VR video game already in development via Sandbox VR (a decision met with raised eyebrows and open laughter), it seems Netflix is trying to squeeze blood from a stone—or at least turn a flop into an “immersive experience.” But with no confirmed plans for Rebel Moon 3 and insiders using phrases like “act of God,” it’s clear Netflix has serious doubts about greenlighting another round of galactic slow motion brooding.
Snyder’s Shift to Ground-Level Grit
While Rebel Moon 3 may be canceled and headed for the black hole of streaming history, Snyder isn’t done with Netflix just yet. He and Johnstad are now reportedly working on a grounded LAPD thriller—likely a much cheaper affair without space horses, moon rebels, or mystical wheat-tossing montages.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 13: Zack Snyder attends the Netflix Premiere of Zack Snyder’s REBEL MOON – Part One: A Child of Fire at TCL Chinese Theatre on December 13, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)
It’s a sharp pivot from the six-movie saga Snyder once envisioned. But after back-to-back flops and a fanbase that has largely tuned out, it may also be his best chance at a fresh start.
Final Thoughts: Hope Isn’t the Only Thing That’s Lost
At this point, Rebel Moon is less a franchise and more a case study in how not to build one. Overhyped, underwritten, and thoroughly out of steam, the series looks to be heading into permanent cryo-sleep. And unless the Almighty personally steps in, don’t expect a resurrection.
ARMY OF THE DEAD (L to R) ZACK SNYDER (DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, WRITER) in ARMY OF THE DEAD. Cr. CLAY ENOS/NETFLIX © 2021
Because when your own screenwriter says it would take an “act of God” to get the sequel made… it usually means the studio already said no.
Do you think Rebel Moon 3 has been canceled at Netflix? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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That’s unfortunate – this means Snyder is free to ruin something else.
Netflix still has him. He’s just making police procedurals now. Stuff that’s relatively low budget that he can’t lost hundreds of millions on.