‘Rebel Moon’ Sequel Offers More Action, Backstory of Warriors 

Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)
Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)
TT

‘Rebel Moon’ Sequel Offers More Action, Backstory of Warriors 

Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)
Zack Snyder, left, and Deborah Snyder pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in London. (AP)

Zack Snyder says "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" shows his full vision for the franchise.

The second installment of the sci-fi adventure picks up from where "Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire", released four months earlier, left off.

It sees Sofia Boutella's character Kora and a group of rebel warriors team up with the people of Veldt, a peaceful farming moon, to ward off an attack from the tyrannical Motherworld and its resurrected, ruthless military leader Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein).

"I always knew that this was going to be like half a movie. Our whole idea was to get the movies out right next to each other so people could have the complete experience. And I think that's what we're really hoping for with this is that people get a chance to see the entire thing," Snyder said as he premiered the film in London on Tuesday.

Part Two also sees actors Djimonn Hounsou and Bae Doona reprising their roles as General Titus and Nemesis and Anthony Hopkins lending his voice to Jimmy the sentient robot.

The movie delves into the backstories of the warriors, laying out their motives to join the rebellion.

"It's going to be a lot more action and you get to go deeper with the characters and find out more about their pasts and what drew them to fight for this cause,” said Boutella.

Snyder, known for films including "Watchmen", "300", "Justice League" and "Man of Steel", directed, co-wrote and produced the movie, as well as serving as its cinematographer.

Director's cuts of the two films are expected in August, Snyder said, adding that he and writers Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad had also continued developing the story.

"That has been a real big adventure, for Shay and Kurt and I," he said.

"But then also, we've been working super hard on the director's cuts. Normally when I do a director's cut, it's in response to a cut that I was forced to make, where this was really from the beginning designed as a separate movie,” said Snyder.

“We shot a whole bunch of additional stuff and it was really fun to just actually make another movie. So it's been four movies, it's a little tiring.” he said.

"Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" starts streaming on Netflix on April 19.



Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Aya Nakamura: Set for Olympics Opening Ceremony?

Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
TT

Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Aya Nakamura: Set for Olympics Opening Ceremony?

Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File
Lady Gaga said she was recording a new album. Tolga Akmen / AFP/File

World-famous stars are in line to perform at Friday's opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which will take place along the Seine river.
The exact line-up is a tightly guarded secret, but here are three performers strongly rumored to be appearing:
Lady Gaga
One of the world's biggest-selling artists, pop queen Lady Gaga -- real name Stefani Germanotta -- brings extravagant showmanship and costumes to the stage, along with her infectious electropop beats.
She won an Oscar for "Shallow", a song she co-wrote for the 2018 film remake "A Star is Born".
In that film she sang the classic "La Vie en rose" by French legend Edith Piaf -- whose songs are expected to feature in the Olympics extravaganza.
Lady Gaga was seen arriving at a hotel in the French capital days ahead of the opening bash.
Her anticipated Olympic turn comes during a busy year for the Oscar-winning US songwriter, 38.
Earlier this month she announced she was back in the studio at work on a new album.
She also appears as love-interest Harley Quinn in the new "Joker" movie, screening at the Venice Film Festival that starts in late August.
"Music is one of the most powerful things the world has to offer," she said prior to her electrifying 2017 Super Bowl halftime show performance.
"No matter what race or religion or nationality or sexual orientation or gender that you are, it has the power to unite us."
Celine Dion
Canadian superstar singer Dion is set to return to the spotlight after her fight against a rare illness was laid bare in a recent documentary.
She has been posing for selfies with fans around Paris since the start of the week.
Sources have indicated she may sing Piaf's stirring love anthem "Hymne A l'Amour" at the ceremony.
If she performs it will be the 56-year-old Dion's second time at the Games, after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Last month she vowed she would fight her way back from the debilitating rare neurological condition that has kept her off stage.
Dion first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder.
But she told US network NBC in June: "I'm going to go back onstage, even if I have to crawl. Even if I have to talk with my hands, I will. I will."
She has sold more than 250 million albums during a career spanning decades, and picked up two Grammys for her rendition of "My Heart Will Go On", the hit song from the 1997 epic "Titanic".
Aya Nakamura
Franco-Malian R&B superstar Aya Nakamura, 29, is the most listened to French-speaking singer in the world, with seven billion streams online.
She is known for hits such as "Djadja", which has close to a billion streams on YouTube alone, and "Pookie".
She faced down a wave of abuse from right-wing activists over her mooted Olympics appearance.
The backlash came after media reports suggested she had discussed performing a song by Piaf at a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.
Neither party confirmed the claim but Macron publicly backed the singer for the Olympics ceremony.
Far-right politicians and conservatives have accused her of "vulgarity" and disrespecting the French language in her lyrics.
Born Aya Danioko in the Malian capital Bamako in 1995 into a family of traditional musicians, she moved with her parents to the Paris suburbs as a child.
She told AFP in an interview in 2020 her music was about "feelings of love in all their aspects".
"I have made my own musical universe and that is what I am most proud of. I make the music I like, even if people try to pigeon-hole me."