Why did the director of Rebel Moon's cuts assign an R-rating?
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) first rated Zack Snyder's director's cuts of Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver NC-17. But Netflix, the streaming company that developed and released the Movies, asked that the director's edits be graded R instead.
A Few Less Whacks
Scenes involving Ed Skrein's character, Admiral Noble, who is shown as a violent antagonist in the Movies, accounted for the NC-17 rating mostly. In an interview with CinemaBlend, Snyder said he had to trim the movie slightly in order to get an R-rating, including less on-screen violence featuring Admiral Noble. "There were some cuts I had to make to (an Ed Skrein) sequence to get it to the R rating from the NC-17," Snyder said. "Because it was NC-17 for some time before we had to really... A few less whacks (to the skull), a bit less brain he unearthed. (That version is) anywhere.
Netflix's Preference
Netflix insisted on the movies getting an R-grade; Snyder said he spoke with the streaming behemoth about the idea of releasing the films with an NC-17 rating. "I did discuss with Netflix whether or not that was a possibility," stated Snyder. "And they expressed, "We really want it to be R." And I found myself saying, "All right." Fair is what you say here. I did promise you an R-rated cut. etc. When I asked Netflix whether they were cool with the NC-17, they said, "No, we're not cool." Debbie (Snyder) said, "You did agree that it would be R-rated," as I had agreed. And I replied, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Deal is what a deal is.
The critical reception of the films and Snyder's intentions for the director's cuts
Although Rebel Moon features a great cast, both viewers and critics have given the movies mostly low marks. Low scores for the films have been attributed by many critics on their lack of character development, formulaic narrative, and derivative quality.
Improving the Movies
The director's edits could give Snyder a chance to surpass the first releases. Snyder has said that in addition to more violence and a longer running length, the director's cuts will provide more finely detailed character arcs and backstories. Though fans can expect some graphic violence and a closer look into the setting of the movie, it remains to be seen if the director's cuts will be successful in enhancing the franchise.
