Making Rebel Moon Required Zack Snyder To Learn A Shocking Amount About Wheat

Consider it a rite of passage for all the most ambitious productions. In order to film all the scenes set in the Shire for "The Lord of the Rings," Peter Jackson had his production crew plant vast amounts of gardens and vegetation in New Zealand over a year before filming even commenced to help transform the already beautiful countryside into the most idyllic parts of Middle-earth. In "Interstellar," the stubbornly practical Christopher Nolan insisted on growing over 500 acres of actual corn ... mostly just for the brief scene where Matthew McConaughey drives his pickup truck through a field to track down a drone. With "Rebel Moon," director Zack Snyder found himself in a similar predicament.

When /Film was given the opportunity to visit the set of this new space epic, which started out as a "Star Wars" pitch before the director repurposed his script into an original story, Snyder opened up about the learning curve he underwent to pick up a brand-new skill: the art of growing wheat. The footage and photos we've seen so far have included shots of vast grain fields worked on by characters such as Sofia Boutella's Kora. As Snyder told us, the process of bringing this to life on-camera proved tricky:

"Oh, we learned a ton about growing wheat. I know more about growing wheat, for f***'s sake. I even grew wheat, I had my own at the house. I had my own wheat so I could know what was happening. You learn also that the modern wheat is shorter than ancient grains because modern wheat is all cut with combines and the stocks have to be shorter, allows them to cut the wheat."

But since "Rebel Moon" isn't a documentary about growing wheat, the production team needed someone who knew their stuff.

What if there was a way to bypass the years it takes for film students, actors, and other industry hopefuls to finally make it onto a film set in a critical role? Allow me to introduce you to the snazzy job title of "Hero reaper," the ultimate career path for large-scale films that happen to involve the growing of wheat. While knee-deep in production on "Rebel Moon," Zack Snyder found himself relying more and more on the most specialized member of his crew — the wheat guy, naturally.

As Snyder told /Film during the set visit, "As we grew older wheat, our guy up who helped us ... Jacob, he's amazing. He's in the movie a lot, because he taught all our cast how to reap." They were so impressed by his skills, according to Snyder's wife and producing partner Deborah, that he soon found himself with much more of an on-camera role. As Zack Snyder tells it, viewers will have to be on the lookout for Jacob's contributions in such a small, but crucial performance:

"Whenever I needed a 'hero' reaper, I'd be like, 'Jacob, get in there!' There's a beautiful sunset shot we were doing and I'm like, 'Jacob! Get over here! I don't want to waste this sunset! Someone's got to really know what they're doing.' And he was like, 'Yep.' I'd go, 'Jacob, clean this area up!' and he'd make a pristine area to start cutting because no one else could do it as quickly."

Who says Hollywood isn't glamorous! The star-studded epic features the likes of Charlie Hunnam, Jena Malone, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, and many more ... but whenever you see wheat, know that Jacob was the real star of the show. 

"Rebel Moon" debuts on Netflix on December 22, 2023.