Written by Peter Aperlo

Titan, out now

Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder’s latest franchise is about to make a resurgence of sorts. The Director’s Cuts of both movies are imminent and The Seneschal, a podcast audio drama about the creation of robotic knight order the Jimmys, is also about to start. There’s been a comic series about heroes the Bloodaxes, novelizations by the excellent V. Castro and this, the first of two Art Of books.

Wolf: Ex Nihilo focuses on the worlds and technology of Rebel Moon and, if you like deep dives into design choices, you’ll love it. Each world we see, admittedly at breakneck speed in the first cut, is given plenty of room for the creatives involved to walk us through the process. Honestly, it’s given more room here than it was in the movies and I appreciated each setting here more than I did in the film. Veldt has had more thought put into its design than you might think, both as a world and a practical set. There’s some really elegant design here, as we find out every Veldt set was carefully built around both the production base camp and the same basic location. There’s also a huge amount of physical effects on display, and possibly my favourite is the story told here about perfecting how Motherworld dropships land. What we see on screen is actors reacting to…a helicopter coming into land off screen. The dust is real, the wind is real and it’s a pleasingly gritty note that really helps once you know it.

Everything designed on screen in these movies is designed with a purpose, and honestly, the structural story is often better than the actual narrative. I loved the reveal that the Motherworld’s central palace is held up by an iron skeleton, reflecting both the new regime and the fact the Motherworld has dangerously overextended itself and is in the process of collapsing. This is fun, chewy stuff and author Peter Aperlo balances an informal but respectful approach with an appreciation of the often-esoteric way sets are dressed. I enjoyed finding out the dreadnought and Kai’s freighter were dressed in a similar way, from electronic salvage parts but ended up looking so different. The dreadnought is incredibly well maintained but dirty because the Motherworld is focused entirely on conquest. Kai’s freighter has belts, straps and cloth used to tie cargo down because he’s a dodgy geezer who cheaps out on repairs. This stuff is fun! I wish there was more of it in the movies!  Nemesis especially had a huge amount of thought put into her design and back story and it’s a shame more of that didn’t make it to screen. Maybe it’ll show up in the Director’s Cuts.

Clay Enos, Chris Strother and Justin Lubin’s photos, and Tim Scrivens and William Robinson’s layouts are fantastic and meld with each other superbly. The book feels information heavy and dense and if you’re a design fan there’s a lot to chew over here.

Verdict: If you weren’t a fan, odds are this won’t win you over but may lead you to appreciate the artistry put into these movies. If you were, then this is going to be so much fun. Frustrating as the movies are, they’re also gorgeous, and so is this book. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart