Sofia Boutella Says ‘Rebel Moon’ Negative Reviews “Affected” Her: “I Thought I Had Thick Skin, But I’m Human”

Yes, Sofia Boutella saw the negative reviews of Rebel Moon, and yes, they hurt her feelings.

“I’ve danced my whole life,” Boutella told Decider in a recent Zoom interview at the press junket for Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. “I thought I had a thick skin, but I’m human.”

The first film in Zack Snyder’s sci-fi saga, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, was released on Netflix in December, and was met with scathing reviews from critics. The New York Times called it an “embarrassing banality,” while Indiewire dubbed it a “dreadful” ” torturous slog.” And though some outlets, like Rolling Stone and Variety, offered more measured, lukewarm takes on the movie, it currently sits at a dismal 21% on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.

Boutella, who stars in the film series as Kora, first opened up about her feelings to these harsh takes in an interview with Vulture, when she admitted she read the reviews and said “really affected” her. When asked by Decider on why she spoke out, Boutella responded, “I just didn’t want to spend time and energy pretending that I was OK. It affected me. I’m sensitive. We worked really hard on the film. We gave it our heart and soul. It involved so many crew members, and people that truly care. We all got along so well, and it was truly a joy for us to be a part of. So that’s the reason why it affected me.”

She added, “When you care so much about something, it’s OK to be honest with your feelings.”

Though the first Rebel Moon movie was not well-received by critics, the movie performed solidly for Netflix, garnering almost 24 million views in the first three days of its release, according to the streamer’s self-reported data. That’s decent, even if it’s less than other hit Netflix originals like Leave World Behind (41.7 million views in its first three days) and Leo (34.6 million views). Snyder himself recently claimed the first Rebel Moon movie now has over 90 million views, but as The Wrap reports, that number has not been publicly announced or verified by Netflix.

For her part, Boutella says she’s not worried about the incoming reviews for Part Two, which will begin streaming on Netflix this Friday, April 19.

“I find solace in the fact that the audience truly loves it. We’ve had people truly being inspired by it,” Boutella said. “I absolutely loved working with Zack. He’s such a great creative. And I loved working with Netflix. So for me, all in all, it was truly an amazing experience that I have absolutely no regret about.”