Rebel Moon And Star Wars have some things in common, but they are not Nemesis sabers.
Zack Snyder is now developing his own sci-fi universe on Netflix, in the Rebel Moon saga, of which Part 1: Child of Fire is online this December 22, 2023 on the streaming platform. A universe which is, however, inspired by many other works of science fiction, including Star Wars. The trailer had already surprised Internet users by showing sabers that lit up. Could these be lightsabers? Answer.
Star Wars infuses Rebel Moon, but not for sabers
Ironically, it’s not the sabers that are most inspired by Star Wars. These belong to the character played by Bae Doo-na, namely Nemesis. This heroine, who demands revenge for the murder of her children, is an outstanding fighter, who uses martial arts in particular. She is well equipped with two sabers.
These sabers, however, have absolutely nothing “laser” about them. They are metallic, flat, with an unslotted tip. They are therefore particularly thick, like what we would find in Japanese science fantasy – Final Fantasy Or Evangelion. Lightsabers have a technological dimension. Their handle deploys a beam.
Furthermore, Nemesis, to wield his swords, needed to cut his hands. She replaced them with biotechnological gauntlets, making her a cyborg, an “augmented” person. Paradoxically, the sabers light up when they catch fire, which seems less technological than in Star Wars.
If these are therefore far from being lightsabers in Rebel MoonZack Snyder’s saga nevertheless draws heavily on Star Wars. Particularly in its narrative scheme: an omnipotent and conquering empire, led by an emperor with dark and almost magical powers, a cruel army. Star Warsas we know, has always been inspired by authoritarian regimes to depict its empire – whose analyzes sometimes compare it to Nazism for example -, and Rebel Moon do the same.
Kora’s aesthetic, moreover, is also similar to the aesthetic of Star Wars: she is thus very, very close to Rey.
In both cases, the genre also relates to a form of science fantasy, this genre halfway between science fiction and fantasy: in Star Wars as in Rebel Moonthose are space operas to many alien species (with the same scene of a “bar” to represent it, moreover), with a policy extended on several planets, but where the powers of certain protagonists and where certain events are not scientifically explained, more close to the supernatural.
In a more down to earth way, the comparison is logical in the history of Rebel Moon : this is a film that Zack Snyder had initially pitched to Lucasfilms, as a new Star Wars opus. It was the abandonment of the project that led the director to launch into his own sci-fi world.
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