Its ensemble cast features Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Bae Doona, Ray Fisher, Charlie Hunnam, and Anthony Hopkins.

The film is set in a fictional galaxy ruled by the imperialistic Motherworld, whose military, the Imperium, threatens a village on the moon Veldt.

He explains that his troops are hunting for a band of rebels led by siblings Devra and Darrian Bloodaxe, and offers to buy the village's surplus grain.

Kora and Gunnar depart for the port town of Providence, intending to recruit warriors for the village's defense, including Titus, a disgraced Imperium general.

Darrian agrees to defend the village and brings several rebels, including one named Milius, while Devra, unconvinced that a victory against Noble's dreadnought is possible, declines.

Noble identifies Kora and Titus as deserters, Tarak as a former prince, and Nemesis as the assassin of sixteen Imperial officers and their security details in revenge for her murdered children.

Rebel Moon is inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa, the Star Wars films and Heavy Metal magazines; its logo is an homage to the latter.

We started roughing things out.” [13] Snyder then pitched it as a Star Wars film to Lucasfilm, shortly after its sale to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.

[17] Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Jena Malone, Staz Nair, Bae Doona, Stuart Martin, and Rupert Friend joined the project in February 2022.

[21] On May 16, 2022, it was announced that Ed Skrein had replaced Friend as the film's main antagonist due to scheduling conflicts, with Cleopatra Coleman, Fra Fee and Rhian Rees joining the project.

[22] On June 8, 2022, it was announced that Anthony Hopkins had joined the cast as the voice of Jimmy, a sentient JC1435 mechanized battle robot and one-time defender of the slain king.

Two days later, Zack Snyder appeared at gamescom opening night to present the teaser trailer for the two parts, which confirmed the titles.

[45] Variety writer Owen Gleiberman commented, "while eminently watchable, [Rebel Moon] is a movie built so entirely out of spare parts that it may, in the end, be for Snyder cultists only.

"[47] The Guardian's Charles Bramesco also gave the film 1/5 stars, writing, "the finished product has only the vaguest contours of ambition, diminished by a half-assedness dinkifying the latest CGI-jammed saga to decide the fate of the universe.

"[50] The Messenger's Jordan Hoffman gave it a score of 4/10, writing, "As a space opera, it has none of the weight of Dune, none of the characterizations of Guardians of the Galaxy, none of the madness of Jupiter Ascending or The Fifth Element and none of the pep of Star Wars.

[52] Fred Topel of United Press International was more positive, calling the film "an entertaining filtering of science fiction and general storytelling tropes through the lens of creator/director Zack Snyder.

"[53] The South China Morning Post's Daniel Eagan gave it 3.5/5 stars, writing, "What Snyder brings to the project is a sensational world-building vision and a muscular filmmaking style that can pummel viewers into submission.

"[55] Reviewing the director's cut, Chase Hutchinson of Collider said it "lacks anything approaching depth or well-constructed action, failing to offer anything worth revisiting despite adding another nearly two hours".

"[16] A role-playing video game based on Rebel Moon was in development as of March 2023, alongside an animated short and a graphic novel.

[6] The narrative fiction podcast The Seneschal: A Rebel Moon Story by writer Magdalene Visaggio, starring Ella Purnell, Naveen Andrews, Alfred Enoch, Peter Serafinowicz and Jason Isaacs, released the first of six episodes on July 29, 2024.

Set 500 years before the movie, it tells the story of the first Jimmy and the married master artisans Adwin and Raina of Saaldoran who created him for a mad king.