REBELS WITH A CAUSE

Trevor Hogg embarks on a galactic journey to uncover the secrets behind Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire NEXT

Whether it be superheroes fighting each other or their archenemies, travelling to ancient Sparta to recreate W legendary military feats, entering the mind of a psychiatric patient, or a zombie outbreak, Zack Snyder has a developed a distinct visual style that gets transported to outer space with the release of Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire. Despite the obvious narrative callbacks to Seven Samurai and Star Wars, aesthetically Days of Heaven was a major influence along with the sheer imagination of Snyder, which had to be translated by production designers Stephen Swain and Stefan Dechant.

"There's another designer no one is mentioning, and that's Zack," says Dechant. "Zack does all of the storyboards. It's his world and he's laying it out. I came in only 10 weeks out, so had to get my cues from Zack. He had a couple of key images that he had pulled for the Motherworld and would say, 'It has this steampunk vibe and Gothic sensibility.' He might even do a little sketch of a certain scene."

Defining the shape and form language was the idea of harmony versus brutality, with the former representing the organic nature of the rebels and the latter the rigidness of the Imperium. "Sometimes you're fortunate enough to be in sync with Zack," states Dechant. "Like the King's Gaze [the dreadnought-class starship commanded by Admiral Atticus Noble]. I knew that it had a nautical feel and reminded me of Space Battleship Yamato. I drew a sketch of how I saw [communications officer] Conning Tower and this is where Noble comes in. I wanted to have a railing you could stand up against and look out at the bow of the ship. I'd come up with this idea that I was thinking was unique to myself and Zack had drawn something similar."