Rebel Ridge: First Looks at Netflix’s Most Anticipated September 2024 Release

Rebel Ridge, created by Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room) and originally starring John Boyega (Star Wars), is among our most anticipated titles. The movie had a lot of production issues, including the main star walking off the set. After years of waiting, Rebel Ridge will hit Netflix globally on September 6th, 2024.

Rebel Ridge was first announced in November 2019 (five years ago at the time of this update in mid-2024!), but getting to release has been quite a journey, as we’ll take you through below. It’s not the only Netflix movie that has or is still taking a long time to reach our screens. Titles like Havoc and The Old Guard 2 have similarly faced numerous road bumps.

Jeremy Saulnier’s Vision for Rebel Ridge

Directing, writing, and producing the movie is Jeremy Saulnier, best known for his work on Green Room, which starred the late Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots. More recently, Saulnier directed Hold the Dark for Netflix, which starred Jeffrey Wright and Alexander Skarsgard.

When the project was first announced, Saulnier on Twitter spoke about why he was working with Netflix, saying:

“Sold it on the open market to the studio best suited for this particular project. It’s not a cheap film and my leading man isn’t wearing tights. Netflix best supports my efforts to bring forth mid-budget old-school action with little or no green screen.”

Cinematography and Production Team

Magnus Nordenhof Jonck, who worked on The OA, Borgen, and Hold the Dark, was chosen as the director of photography for Rebel Ridge. The movie is produced by Filmscience (Blue Ruin, Hold the Dark, Green Room) and Bonneville Pictures (The Pool). Macon Blair (Room 104, Blue Ruin) will serve as an executive producer, as will Louise Lovegrove (The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot). Matt Levin (Hold the Dark, Apostle) oversaw production. Brooke Blair and Will Blair are the two composers behind the new action thriller.

The Plot of Rebel Ridge

Netflix’s Rebel Ridge is a high-velocity thriller with bone-breaking action sequences, suspense, and dark humor. The plot involves Boyega’s (now Pierre) character, an ex-marine who takes on a group of dirty cops. The film will also explore systemic American injustices such as systemic racism.

An updated official logline gives us the full rundown of what we can expect:

“An ex-Marine (Aaron Pierre) grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief.”

Cast Changes and Current Lineup

Original and Replacement Lead

Star Wars’ sequel trilogy star John Boyega was due to lead the cast of Rebel Ridge. Boyega came fresh off his other upcoming Netflix movie, a sci-fi action flick called They Cloned Tyrone, which wrapped in January 2021 and premiered in 2023.

In June 2021, it was announced that Boyega was no longer part of the cast as he departed the project mid-shoot due to family reasons. Netflix was reportedly looking for his replacement. In October 2021, it was reported that Netflix had found its John Boyega replacement in the form of Aaron Pierre, known for The Underground Railroad and M. Night Shyamalan’s mystery horror, Old.

Aaron Pierre on Joining the Cast

Pierre, speaking to Shadow and Act (now Blavity), said about working on the film:

“The very first moment I met with Jeremy, the very first moment I read the script, which I read within minutes of it being sent to me, and I finished it in maybe 90 minutes, it was undeniable for me. The filmmaker was undeniable, the character was undeniable. The journey of the characters was undeniable, and the studio behind it was undeniable.”

Supporting Cast

The rest of the cast is as follows:

• Don Johnson (Miami Vice, Django Unchained) as Chief Sandy Burnne
• James Cromwell (The Green Mile, The General’s Daughter) as Judge
• David Denman (The Office, Mare of Easttown) as Officer Evan Marston
• Steve Zissis (Baghead, Togetherness) as Elliot
• Zsané Jhé (Black Lightning, Watchmen) as Officer Jessica Sims
• AnnaSophia Robb (Bridge to Terabithia) as Summer McBride
• Dana Lee (Dr. Ken) as Mr. Liu
• Emory Cohen (The OA) as Officer Steve Lann

Production Challenges and Status

Initial Hurdles

According to the director, the production schedule for Rebel Ridge was “tumultuous,” as we’ll discuss below.

In January 2020, Boyega shared that he should be training up for production (this is a screenshot of the Tweet, given that Boyega has since deleted his profile).

Filming Locations and Delays

On May 10th, 2021 – KALB (an NBC news affiliate) posted that filming for the movie was taking place in Downtown Leesville in Louisiana. They stated that they were filming in the area until May 12th before moving to Slidell, Louisiana.

On June 3, 2021 (around a month after beginning filming), Netflix announced that Boyega had to exit the project due to family reasons. That meant all production on the project ceased.

“Rebel Ridge is pausing temporarily as we look to re-cast John Boyega who needed to leave the project for family reasons. We remain committed to Jeremy Saulnier’s extraordinary film and look forward to resuming production. We look forward to continuing our partnership with John Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions, in addition to our upcoming film They Cloned Tyrone in which he also stars.”

Conflicting Reports

According to sources from The Hollywood Reporter, Boyega quit the production without telling anyone, and the alleged reasons were related to the script and his accommodations. THR also suggests that even Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos tried to persuade Boyega to come back. His agent, however, defended his client in a statement:

“I can categorically say that these rumors are completely untrue. People will form their opinions often rooted from boredom. As stated John unfortunately left due to family reasons which in truth is none of anyone’s business except his own. John and Netflix have a wonderful relation which will continue to grow for years to come whether that be through his acting or through [Boyega’s production company] UpperRoom.”

Resumption and Wrap-Up

After those stories in June 2021, the project went quiet, but new production listings seem to suggest signs of life once again.

ProductionWeekly listings in early 2022 stated that filming is set to pick up again between April 18th and June 24th, 2022, with the changed cast.

Slightly later than initially planned, Saulnier confirmed that production had wrapped in July 2022, posting on Twitter:

“Wrap on REBEL RIDGE. Third time was indeed a charm. Eternal thanks to the cast and crew for their collective art and cinematic fortitude. Now, a donut and a nap.”

Post-Production and Final Touches

The director spoke to FilmStories in March 2024, suggesting that the movie was deep into post-production with a sound mix taking place in early 2024. He spoke a bit about the problems with the movie saying, “It had a tumultuous birthing process, but because of that, it’s my first movie where I’m fully at peace with it at the release point – whatever that might be, we have not found the release date yet.”

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Release Date Announcement

World of Reel has been on the case for this movie throughout 2023 and 2024, citing a positive test screening in July 2023. They then spotted that a Deadline piece noted that the film would be released in the latter half of 2024.

Netflix then later confirmed the movie would debut on September 6th, 2024.

The movie is rated TV-MA and will have a runtime of 2 hours and 12 minutes. It got its rating for language, violence, injury detail, and suicide references.

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Conclusion

After years of anticipation and numerous hurdles, Rebel Ridge is finally set to hit our screens. With its high-octane action and gripping storyline, this Jeremy Saulnier-directed thriller promises to be a standout title on Netflix this year. Mark your calendars for September 6th, 2024, and get ready for a thrilling ride.

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