Anthony Hopkins has played many larger-than-life figures throughout his career, from the powerful Odin to the intimidating Hannibal Lecter. So it makes perfect sense that he would eventually make his way to a Zack Snyder film. This has finally become the case with Snyder's upcoming Netflix film Rebel Moon.
Hopkins has tons of acclaimed films under his belt and now he has officially joined the Rebel Moon production, set to take part as the voice of a robot. This character, named Jimmy, is described as "an impossibly sentient JC1435 mechanized battle robot and one-time defender of the slain King." So if there was any doubt as to just how "sci-fi" the now two-part Rebel Moon was going to be, the presence of a sentient robot probably guides those expectations quite well. Snyder himself also appears ecstatic about having Hopkins on board.
Quoting a tweet from the official Netflix Geeked Twitter account, Snyder decided to entice audiences even further with an imposing photo of Hopkins' robotic character. Jimmy appears to sport a helmet laden with antlers, along with a ratty cloak and walking stick. His (or perhaps their) look sets the tone for Rebel Moon, which looks to be set in a Star Wars-esque universe full of advanced technology that somehow always looks like it's been banged up by neighborhood kids. Deadline first reported on Hopkins' casting.
Rebel Moon follows Sofia Boutella as Kora, a young woman with plenty of secrets. She gets sent out by her peaceful settlement to gather fighters from neighboring planets in order to fight back against the inevitable onslaught of the bloodthirsty Regent Balisarius and his armies. It's currently unknown whether Jimmy is one of those warriors or simply an observer of sorts. However, the cast itself suggests some interesting characters, with names like The Princess Bride's Cary Elwes in an unknown role and Justice League's Ray Fisher as the pleasant-sounding Blood Axe.
After finally releasing Zack Snyder's Justice League, it looks as though Snyder has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance. He released Army of the Dead and Army of Thieves in that same year, both receiving decent enough receptions in their own right, and now Rebel Moon is set to be the first film released under the first-look deal made between Netflix and Snyder's production company, The Stone Quarry Productions. The premise of the new film almost sounds like something out of a mid-2000s low-budget (yet still enjoyable) sci-fi movie. But with Snyder and Netflix behind it, maybe it can help usher in a resurgence of those types of space popcorn flicks.
The presence of Hopkins is sure to elevate Rebel Moon even higher, so here's hoping the wait doesn't go on for too long. This is the guy who narrated Jim Carrey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, so he's definitely got the pipes for it.
Rebel Moon is currently filming.
Source: Deadline, Zack Snyder/Twitter