Zack Snyder resurrects 'Star Wars' pitch for original Netflix sci-fi franchise 'Rebel Moon'

Zack Snyder is reviving an old Seven Samurai-inspired Star Wars pitch as Rebel Moon, a new sci-fi epic for Netflix, the streaming service has announced.

Rebel Moon is set in a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy that finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius.

A young woman with a mysterious past is dispatched to seek out warriors from neighbouring planets to help with the resistance, according to Netflix.

Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter that Rebel Moon stems from his love of Star Wars and the work of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.

He added he hopes the film can launch a franchise and “a universe that can be built out”.

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He had the germ of the idea for Rebel Moon a decade ago while working on a pitch for a Star Wars film described as “a more mature take on the universe created by George Lucas”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Snyder is a known fan of Seven Samurai, telling Yahoo in 2015 that Akira Kurosawa's 1954 epic was a big influence on Justice League.

Snyder is writing the script alongside Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad, while the director’s wife Deborah Snyder will serve as producer.

Snyder’s most recent movie was Army Of The Dead. In May, Netflix said it was on course to be viewed by 72 million households in its first four weeks.

In March, Warner Bros released Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the long-awaited director’s cut of the 2017 superhero original.

Watch: Zack Snyder and the cast of Army Of The Dead talk horror and heists