Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon leads exciting 2023 Netflix movie slate

Sofia Boutella's Kora clutches a gun as she looks behind her in Rebel Moon

Zack Snyder's next movie lands on Netflix in December 2023. (Image credit: Netflix)

Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon finally has a release date – and it's coming to Netflix before the end of the year.

Announced as part of Netflix's 2023 movie slate, the popular director's new sci-fi flick will launch exclusively on the world's best streaming service on December 22.

Initially pitched as a Star Wars movie, Snyder repurposed his latest project after it was rejected by Lucasfilm and Disney. Rebel Moon, which stars Sofia Boutella, DC movies alumni Ray Fisher and Djimon Hounsou, and legendary actor Anthony Hopkins among others, will follow in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery's footsteps in attempting to reign supreme as one of the most-watched Netflix films of the 2023 holiday season.

Analysis: finally, Netflix seems to be doing movies right

Princess Elodie brandishes a sword at someone off-camera in Netflix's Damsel movie — Damsel is one of many big-budget films coming from Netflix in 2023. (Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has done plenty right to install itself as the most popular streamer around.

However, it's also got a lot wrong. From cancelling fan-favorite shows to hiding its ads-free basic tier, the streaming giant has found itself becoming increasingly criticised by viewers and the media alike. It's little surprise, then, that it lost millions of subscribers early last year before turning the corner and winning viewers back in Q3 2022.

Netflix has been able to combat some negative headlines thanks to its most popular shows, such as Stranger Things season 4, Wednesday, Arcane, and Squid Game. The streamer, though, has found film success harder to come by, with many of its original movies – despite their drawing in millions of viewers – struggling to receive positive reviews.

Per review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, only seven movies – Glass Onion, The Sea Beast, Enola Holmes 2, Hustle, Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical, Apollo 10 1/2, and All Quiet on the Western Front – earned a rating above 90% in 2022. Considering the amount of movie content Netflix produced last year, including hit films like The Gray Man and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, that's a very poor return.

Netflix will hope, then, that its 2023 film slate performs better than its predecessor. Based on the amount of thrilling, entertaining, and action-packed movies coming this year, plus the talent involved in its most anticipated flicks, Netflix's movie slate should fare better in 2023 than it did in 2022. If it does, it'll prove that the streaming company is, albeit belatedly, getting things right in its film department.

For more Netflix content, find out what the best Netflix shows and best Netflix documentaries are. Additionally, get the low down on the best short movies on Netflix.

As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across. Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.