Rebel Moon 2's ending has left fans with a major cliffhanger as they wait to see whether we'll get a Rebel Moon 3.
The sequel delves into the backstories of each of the rebels, but it's mostly an extended battle sequence as the rebels fight alongside the villagers of Veldt to defeat Admiral Noble and his Imperium forces.
It's a battle that involves some sacrifices, before the sequel also resolves a mystery from the first movie about what happened with Kora and Princess Issa, the child she failed to protect, leading to her desertion from the Motherworld.
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Well, we say it resolves it, but Rebel Moon 2's ending then throws a curveball with a major revelation about Princess Issa. So if you're wondering what that's all about, let's dig into the events of Rebel Moon 2.
Major spoilers ahead.
Who dies in Rebel Moon 2?
Before we get to the Princess Issa revelation, Rebel Moon 2 doesn't end well for everybody as there are major casualties along the way.
Once the battle starts on Veldt, Nemesis is tasked with protecting the women and children in the longhouse. She does a pretty sterling job of it too, saving them all, but at the cost of her own life when she's fatally stabbed by an Imperium soldier.
While most of the rebels are fighting on Veldt, Kora and Gunnar sneak on board Noble's ship, the King's Gaze, using Kora's old drop ship from her Imperium days. The intention is to get Noble to blow it up himself by setting charges on its world-destroying weapon, and he duly obliges when he orders Cassius to blow up Veldt.
As the King's Gaze explodes around them, Kora and Gunnar face off with Noble in a final battle. They manage to kill him, making sure this time by chopping off his head, but it's at a cost as Gunnar is fatally shot.
Kora safely gets them off the King's Gaze before it crash-lands on Veldt using one of the drop ships. At the same time, Devra Bloodaxe and her army arrive on Veldt to destroy what remains of the Motherworld's forces in revenge for her brother's death in the first movie.
However, the moment of victory is bittersweet for Kora as Gunnar passes away in her arms.
"As far as love goes and loving and the why of loving, Gunnar is probably the first lover she'd had that was transcendent of war. This lover was outside of the conflict, and he was just a guy, really," Snyder explained of Gunnar's death.
"Gunnar is a good guy, but he's just a guy. He's not necessarily a soldier or a leader, and it's a stepping stone for her. She's on this journey of catharsis as well, obviously, and Gunnar's sacrifice is part of that journey."
Rebel Moon 2 ending explained: What happened to Princess Issa?
The final scene of Rebel Moon 2 sees the villagers of Veldt pay tribute to those they've lost, which includes the likes of Den who fell in a brave attempt to kill Noble early in the battle.
They also give their thanks to the rebels for coming together to save the village, but Kora doesn't believe she deserves it because of what she did to Princess Issa.
Earlier in the movie, Kora told Gunnar the story of how the royal family were killed. It came during a dedication ceremony on a new ship, intended to be the final dreadnought that would usher in a new era of peace for the realm.
Kora was there as the personal guardian to Princess Issa, but it was all a trap arranged by Kora's adopted father Balisarius. He killed the King and got his soldiers to kill the Queen, although he forced Kora to kill Princess Issa.
She did as she was told, shooting Princess Issa in the heart, only for Balisarius to then frame Kora for the slaughter of the royal family. She managed to escape, but that's why she's called the Scargiver by Noble.
"On the story level, for the longest time, I didn't know how I was going to play somebody who did what Kora did – the horror of which we learn in a flashback," Sofia Boutella explained in the production notes.
"I didn't know how somebody who committed something like that could be granted redemption and compassion. How could I play Kora if I couldn't forgive her? It was something that was on my mind for a very long time.
"But I talked about it with Zack [Snyder] a lot, and at some point, after spending all this time with my character, I found her colours and began to understand how she was brainwashed by Balisarius, how she always believed what he was saying was the truth, and she could not disappoint him.
"If he said to do something, she had to obey. And then I finally began to forgive her. I can never fully understand this aspect of her, but it's what I had to do to play her."
Kora hadn't told the other rebels about this dark chapter in her life before the big battle. She was about to confess to Titus, in fact, when he stopped her in her tracks.
He always knew about what happened to Princess Issa and he has a revelation for Kora – Princess Issa isn't really dead. Titus told Kora that she wasn't that easy to kill, and no other explanation is given.
Snyder expanded on the revelation to USA Today: "She definitely got shot. But she's kind of a space Jesus. It's a mythological thing."
The rebels now have a new mission: to find Princess Issa and to continue fighting back against the Motherworld.
In the first movie, we were told that Princess Issa was prophesised to bring about the end of all wars. She also had the power to give life, which could reveal how she survived if she was able to use it on herself.
Whether that's the case or that Kora just had bad aim, we'll find out if we get another Rebel Moon movie. But it's easy to see why it'd be a handy power to have on your side.
At the end of Rebel Moon 2, Kora, Titus, Tarak, Milius and the villagers of Veldt are all united in one mission: "To find her and to fight."
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver is out now on Netflix.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
