LOS ANGELES - If Zack Snyder's new Netflix sci-fi movie epic "Rebel Moon" looks and feels a lot like a "Star Wars" film, that's because it was originally pitched as one.
From its humble villagers in a far-flung galaxy battling planet-destroying imperial overlords, to its superheated swords, and even its title, the similarities with George Lucas's creation are unavoidable.
"Rebel Moon" is a rare, $160-million-plus gamble on something new, in an era when Hollywood increasingly depends on established brands and franchises -- known as "intellectual property," or "IP."
"The double-edged sword of IP is that, on one hand, it's familiar, everybody knows what it is," said Snyder.
"On the other hand, it's familiar, everybody knows what it is," he joked.
"Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire" will be released on Netflix on December 22, with a second movie out in April.
It follows Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger who crashes her spaceship in the furthest reaches of the universe, and finds herself defending the peaceful villagers who took her in from the tyrannical Imperium.
She and naive farmer Gunnar (Michiel Huisman) assemble a team of fighters, from die-hard insurgents, to a cocky mercenary (Charlie Hunnam) who owns a speedy spaceship and values his own safety and fortune over the fate of the rebellion.
If some of those characters sound familiar, cast members insist that they are far, far away from a certain well-known galaxy.
Snyder devised detailed backstories for every character, planet and even the spaceships' machinery.