Zack Synder’s Rebel Moon, due out in December on Netflix, looks to have all the trappings of an epic science fiction blockbuster. The movie looks full of exotic locations, strange characters and wild CGI action scenes. But there’s one thing that’s missing that a game company is taking legal action to get out into the public eye: a complete role-playing game.
Evil Genius Games worked with Netflix over the past year to bring Rebel Moon to tabletops over the past year. In a lawsuit filed in the state of California, the company alleges the project was unjustly cancelled in May over claims that the company violated confidentiality clauses in the contract. Evil Genius Games claims Netflix was aware of the moments it released information to the public and only moved to make these claims much later.
“Our aim is to ensure our team is recognized for their fantastic work, and that we can release this game for millions of TTRPG enthusiasts to enjoy,’’ said David Scott via press release. “It’s disheartening to see Netflix backpedal on content that was jointly showcased and had received their prior consent. We urge our supporters to contact Netflix and Zack Snyder to push for the release of this game.’’
Licensed role playing games often help to expand IP outside of the costly production of films and television. They can sustain fandoms in between major releases and bring new fans into the hobby who might not be intrigued by fantasy role-playing games. In some rare cases, materials from these games can find their way back into the IP, such as the influence of characters and concepts from the Star Wars Role-Playing Game released in the 1980s on the current slate of Disney-led Star Wars media.
Evil Genius is behind the Everyday Heroes line of role-playing games. This Dungeons & Dragons inspired rulesset powers several licensed role playing games for IP like Highlander, Total Recall, and more. The Rebel Moon game was expected to be their biggest game yet with a player’s guide and game master’s guide as part of the release and a world bible that developed the setting internally for other projects based on Snyder’s vision.
Although Snyder was not named in the lawsuit, the company mentioned that he was in contact with their employees during the development of the game. Snyder has pubically mentioned how outside games will develop the setting of Rebel Moon beyond what’s in the film series, citing the tabletop game in a March 2023 podcast.
Netflix moved to terminate the agreement in May with claims that Evil Genius had violated their confidentialty agreement by promoting the games at the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) exposition. The game was put in front of potential retails there in advance of a December 2023 release to sync up with the release of the first chapter of Rebel Moon, A Child of Fire on December 22nd.
Evil Genius Games claims Netflix was aware of the promotion as it had approved images for use at the show. Two Netflix employees were part of the team that pesented the game. The termination of the license was completely unexpected and, according to the lawsuit, harmed the company due to a combination of development costs and now lost potential sales.
Netflix offered a settlement while also claiming the hundreds of pages of material as its own property. Evil Genius Games is hoping the court of public opinion can get the case moving with a petition to get the streamer to allow them to release the game. Netflix has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
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