After ‘Rebel Moon,’ Netflix Rejects Zack Snyder’s $100M Cop Thriller

After the ‘Rebel Moon’ experiment, it looks like Zack Snyder’s Netflix run may have hit a wall.

Last December, to the surprise of many, it was announced that Snyder would helm an untitled LAPD action thriller for Netflix, and that it was being positioned as the filmmaker’s next film. So much for that.

Word broke yesterday that Snyder’s actual next project, “The Last Photograph,” will be made independently, without Netflix, and with Stuart Martin and Fra Fee—two actors he worked with on ‘Rebel Moon’—set to star.

TheInSneider is now reporting that Snyder’s relationship with Netflix film chief Dan Lin has become pretty tense. Lin, apparently unimpressed by both ‘Rebel Moon’ and the relentless social-media frenzy around Snyder, wasn’t willing to hand the filmmaker another massive check.

Snyder recently pitched to Lin a character-driven action thriller set inside the LAPD, which intrigued the Netflix chief, but the price tag did not. Sources say Snyder wanted $100M to make the movie. For context, each Rebel Moon instalment landed around $83M.

Lin pushed back, suggesting something in the $75–80M range. Snyder refused to come down from his number, and that’s where the entire thing fell apart. He’s now making another film, “The Last Photograph,” without Netflix, and with two low-key actors attached.

This leaves Snyder in a precarious position; he’s still a name with a loyal fan base, but no longer with the kind of blank-check support he once enjoyed at Warner Bros and then Netflix. Independent financing for a $100M cop drama isn’t exactly easy to scrape together. I gather the budget on “The Last Paragraph” was way below that.

Snyder and Netflix entered into a two-year first-look film deal in July 2021. Under this partnership, Snyder made several projects, including “Army of the Dead,” “Twilight of the Gods,” and “Rebel Moon” Parts 1 & 2.” That might be where it ends.