Zack Snyder Names Christopher Nolan's Biggest Impact On Him As A Filmmaker - Exclusive
Even though Christopher Nolan wrapped up his Batman movie trilogy in 2012 with "The Dark Knight Rises," the revered filmmaker was hardly through with his work in the DC superhero universe. Before he moved on from the franchise, Nolan helped shepherd in Zack Snyder's DC Extended Universe of films with "Man of Steel" in 2013, which introduced moviegoers to Henry Cavill's iconic iteration of Superman. On "Man of Steel," Nolan collaborated with his co-writer on "The Dark Knight" films, David S. Goyer, to pen the story; from there, Goyer wrote the screenplay for the film with Snyder in the director's chair. Snyder, not surprisingly, has been following Nolan's career ever since, even revealing in a red-carpet interview for his new film "Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire" that his favorite film of 2023 was Nolan's historical epic "Oppenheimer."
During an exclusive interview with Looper for "Rebel Moon," Snyder said Nolan has continued to be huge influence in his approach to filmmaking, which includes his work on "Rebel Moon." "Chris' main influence on me is his singularity, his singular vision, [his] uncompromising, straight-ahead approach to filmmaking ... He feels it's very singular, very of one voice, which I love in movies," Snyder said.
In addition to Nolan, Snyder said he's inspired by the work of fellow director David Fincher. "We live in a great age of really gifted and amazing auteurs that can transport you to another point of view," Snyder noted. "In the end, movies are being transported to another point of view, and I happen to think his is pretty cool."
Snyder turned a Star Wars idea into his own singular vision with Rebel Moon
Playing in a limited theatrical release before its streaming debut on Netflix the evening of December 21, "Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire" stars Sofia Boutella as Kora, a mysterious resident of a farming settlement on the distant moon of Veldt. However, when a tyrannical military operation from a dominant planet called the Motherworld turns up on Veldt and begins to terrorize the settlement's population, Kora has no choice but to employ her deadly skills and leadership capabilities to form a group of rebels to fight back — even if it means exposing her dark past.
The interesting past of "Rebel Moon" includes the fact that Zack Snyder conceived it as a story that he felt could fit within the framework of the "Star Wars" movie universe. When Lucasfilm passed on the idea, Snyder — like his colleague, Christopher Nolan — relied on his own, singular vision to create not only "Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire," but also its upcoming April 2024 sequel "Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver."
And while both parts of Snyder's monolithic space saga are born of his original ideas, the writer-director said that he purposefully left some "Star Wars"-like remnants from his original story in "Rebel Moon."
"Mostly what it allowed is that any of the 'Star Wars' iconology that you might see in the movie now that's left over is there by design," Snyder told Looper. "In the end, I can't help myself 100% from being a slight deconstructivist and taking a subversive look at the overall science fiction landscape or the sort of pantheon of mythology that we accept as our cinematic touchstones."
"Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire" is playing in theaters in limited release and debuts exclusively on Netflix the evening of December 21.