Zack Snyder’s new Netflix movie casts The Mummy’s Sofia Boutella as its lead

Sofia Boutella in Kingsman
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Zack Snyder’s new Netflix sci-fi movie, Rebel Moon, has got its lead.

As per Deadline, Sofia Boutella (The Mummy, Atomic Blonde) is spearheading Snyder’s next project with the streamer. It is reported that the director met with several actors in recent months before narrowing the lead. A decision then "came fast" to get Boutella onboard.

Rebel Moon began life as a Star Wars pitch from Snyder and has since been reworked into a full feature film for Netflix.

"This is me growing up as an Akira Kurosawa fan, a Star Wars fan," told THR of the project back in July. "It’s my love of sci-fi and a giant adventure. My hope is that this also becomes a massive IP and a universe that can be built out."

It’s likely that Boutella will fit into the already-announced premise, playing a female warrior tasked with collecting together a band of rebels to help defend a peaceful colony from an advancing tyrannical ruler.

Teasing the project on the Post-Credit Podcast, Snyder compared the film’s aesthetic to Man of Steel’s Krypton-set scenes.

"That's kind of what we're doing in Rebel Moon, but on the biggest steroids that I can give it. Frankly, what I'm really interested [in] with this movie is creating a romantic sci-fi film on a scale that is frankly as big as you can make the movie," the director teased.

Snyder, meanwhile, has more fingers in more pies over at Netflix. An Army of the Dead animated spinoff, Lost Vegas, is on the way. So, too, is Army of the Dead 2, now officially called Planet of the Dead.

For more from the streamer, check out the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies. We’ve even rundown the best Zack Snyder movies – up to now.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.