Evil Genius Games and Netflix Settle 'Rebel Moon' TTRPG Lawsuit

Evil Genius Games has just sent out a 'joint statement' regarding their lawsuit against Netflix regarding the canceled Rebel Moon roleplaying game. No details about this 'amicable resolution' are divulged, other than that the game is still not going to be released.

Evil Genius sued Netflix for breach of contract after the streaming company cancelled their license to product an official Rebel Moon TTRPG citing alleged confidentiality breaches. The contract was cancelled in May 2023 after Evil Genius had completed the game design; Netflix asserted ownership of Evil Genius' work, and indicated that it would be incorporated into future cinematic and video game properties.

• Evil Genius Games Sues Netflix Over 'Rebel Moon' Roleplaying Game

The following is a joint statement prepared by us and Netflix relating to the recently resolved litigation between us.

“The parties are pleased that they were able to amicably resolve this dispute. Netflix thanks Evil Genius for their hard work and professionalism.”

We will not be releasing a Rebel Moon game, but stay tuned for more amazing Cinematic Adventures and an upcoming sci-fi project. And thank you again for your amazing support!

If you are a retailer who preordered the Rebel Moon game in advance, be on the lookout for a follow-up email within the next 7-10 days on how to process your refund.

D. Todd Scott
Evil Genius Games. Inc.

 

[ProfessorDetective]

XP for truth, but I watched Rebel Moon too. I wouldn't buy the game, the breakfast cereal, or the Rebel Moon flamethrower because it was so bad.

I will say that "Rebel Moon: The Popcorn" was decent.

Popcorn Indiana Cheddar Cheese Rebel Moon Popcorn, 6.5 Ounces Bag - Walmart.com

Arrives by Mon, Jan 29 Buy Popcorn Indiana Cheddar Cheese Rebel Moon Popcorn, 6.5 Ounces Bag at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[Blue]

Well, they could always rebrand the work and call it something else, changing all the fluff, easy enough to do. As they more than not just gave them the fluffy parts and kept the game mechanics parts, if they are smart.

The original lawsuit was about the setting bible - that they had to create a large amount of lore around what there was, and do a great deal of setting building.

In other words, it's the "fluff" that is what was invested in, and tossing all of that would be practically a full loss of resources expended.

 

[Queer Venger]

Just got an email update from Evil Genius Games:

"The following is a joint statement prepared by us and Netflix relating to the recently resolved litigation between us.

“The parties are pleased that they were able to amicably resolve this dispute. Netflix thanks Evil Genius for their hard work and professionalism.”

We will not be releasing a Rebel Moon game, but stay tuned for more amazing Cinematic Adventures and an upcoming sci-fi project. And thank you again for your amazing support!

If you are a retailer who preordered the Rebel Moon game in advance, be on the lookout for a follow-up email within the next 7-10 days on how to process your refund.

D. Todd Scott
Evil Genius Games. Inc."

2 things:
does everything nowadays gets turned into a TTRPG?
this just means Netflix paid evil genius for the work they did, and not to release it.

 

[Jer]

One of the fundamental problems with Snyder is that his personal worldview is so bleak and cynical that he finds paragons and other straightforwardly heroic and likeable people to be cartoonishly unrealistic. That makes a story with a hero a lot of people really like and want to cheer for hard to execute on.

I'm not 100% sure it's his actual "worldview". From what I've read he actually sounds like a nice guy in real life and he doesn't seem that cynical about the world.

His films, on the other hand, present a deeply cynical worldview where violence is often the best and only solution to solving problems, might makes right, and nobody is truly good or heroic.

His films also present worlds where "cool" is more important than characterization. How does it look? What's the soundtrack? What would make this conflict "cool and edgy" rather than deeply thinking about characterization.

That these two things are happening together is not a coincidence. I recognize this model of storytelling - it's 1990s grimdark comics storytelling. Cool and edgy visuals and attitude take precedence over depth. Cynicism abounds because edgy storytelling choices lead to cynical worlds where nothing matters. It's not necessarily on purpose, it's just a side effect of kind of shallowly focusing on being grimdark and edgy and making things "look cool".

That's what I generally get out of Synder's work. I think he's not thinking too deeply about what he's doing beyond making cool things he likes. That's why his messages often feel so jumbled and, sometimes, even downright horrible - because he's not really trying to offer up a message beyond "hey this looks cool doesn't it?" (It's also why I find his Watchmen film so fascinating - somehow he managed to simultaneously produce a film that directly replicates the narrative and visuals of the book and yet also manages to not really have any of the themes of the book in it. It's an amazing piece of film in the sense that I can't think of any other example of someone making a faithful adaptation that somehow also manages to miss the entire point of a book).

 

[Retreater]

does everything nowadays gets turned into a TTRPG?

Well, we had Dallas the RPG back in the 1980s.

 

[Morrus]

2 things:
does everything nowadays gets turned into a TTRPG?

No! Mattel doesn’t seem to be aware of TTRPGs like their rival Hasbro. There’s no Barbie game or Masters of the Universe. There’s no Harry Potter Game. There hasn’t been a James Bond game since the 1980s. There’s no Avatar game or (currently) a DC game. There’s no Pokémon game or Toy Story or GTA or Jurassic Park/World or Pirates of the Caribbean or Muppets or Simpsons or Mission Impossible. In fact, if you go through the list of the word’s most well known franchises, very few of them have TTRPGs.

this just means Netflix paid evil genius for the work they did, and not to release it.

Yeah that’s my takeaway too. They accepted the $50K or whatever it was Netflix originally offered. But perhaps kept the IP-stripped game to resell? Dunno. It’s a parody of vagueness to the point of comedy.

 

[Queer Venger]

Id definitely look at a Simpsons TTRPG lol

 

[Timespike]

No! Mattel doesn’t seem to be aware of TTRPGs like their rival Hasbro. There’s no Barbie game or Masters of the Universe. There’s no Harry Potter Game. There hasn’t been a James Bond game since the 1980s. There’s no Avatar game or (currently) a DC game.

It doesn't help that there are two properties that go by "Avatar" and while one has an incredible implementation of PbtA that resulted from a record-smashing kickstarter, the other definitely would make a solid TTRPG too. Just ... what would you call it? The brand confusion is bad enough talking about the screen properties.

Also, the John Wick franchise is just begging for an RPG.

 

[Timespike]

I'm not 100% sure it's his actual "worldview". From what I've read he actually sounds like a nice guy in real life and he doesn't seem that cynical about the world.

His films, on the other hand, present a deeply cynical worldview where violence is often the best and only solution to solving problems, might makes right, and nobody is truly good or heroic.

His films also present worlds where "cool" is more important than characterization. How does it look? What's the soundtrack? What would make this conflict "cool and edgy" rather than deeply thinking about characterization.

Looks like I either mixed up something he said about filmmaking with his actual worldview or I conflated him with some other die-hard cynic. I stand corrected, in either case.

 

[Timespike]

Id definitely look at a Simpsons TTRPG lol

You could always run it with Prime-Time Adventures.