Netflix is being sued over a canceled tabletop RPG tie-in for Rebel Moon, with the game maker claiming that they created extensive world-building for Zack Snyder's upcoming film.
In a lawsuit filed in California Federal Court, Evil Genius Games, best known for Everyday Heroes, says it started working with Netflix in early 2023 on a tie-in TTRPG for Snyder’s space opera. It was scheduled to be released around the end of the year to coincide with the debut of Rebel Moon Part 1: A Child of Fire on Dec. 22, 2023.
The suit claims that, when Evil Genius Games and Netflix started working together, Netflix had a Rebel Moon script, “some rough ideas for the Rebel Moon universe,” and a few graphic assets. But, the suit alleges, it was “missing background information vital to the story as a whole and to the world,” including names and descriptions of alien races and planets, lineages for royal characters, and a “clear storyline for how the Rebel Moon universe originated.”
Evil Genius Games, therefore, filled in “all the missing pieces” of the lore, and “created a cohesive backstory for the entire Rebel Moon franchise,” per the suit. The 228-page document was apparently dubbed the “World Bible” for Rebel Moon, and Snyder himself talked about the TTRPG on podcast The Nerd Queens back in March.
“The one thing that I'm having a really good time with – and I don't really know if I'm supposed to talk about it – is this RPG that we're doing that is just literally insane, and so immersive and so intense and so huge,” he said at the time, adding that it was being done at a “ridiculous scale.”
The lawsuit says that Snyder and Netflix even “indicated” that parts of the World Bible would be incorporated into not only Rebel Moon the film, but also graphic novels, podcasts, animated series, and a novelization based on the movie.
Evil Genius Games apparently put all other projects aside and just about completed a 430-page Player’s Guide and 337-page Game Master's Guide, in addition to the aforementioned World Bible, in order to get the TTRPG ready in time for the movie release.
Things turned awry, however, when Netflix accused Evil Genius Games of breaching confidentiality themselves by releasing confidential Rebel Moon content at a trade show, as well as disclosing unapproved artwork to retailers, accusations the lawsuit calls “baseless.” Nonetheless, the suit says they used this as a means to “terminate the Agreement, assert ownership over Plaintiff’s intellectual property, halt the project, and prevent the game from being released (or potentially release it themselves to avoid sharing the profits with Plaintiff).”
The deal was terminated in May, but the suit says Netflix sent a letter to the TTRPG maker two weeks later, saying the World Bible belongs to Netflix and demanding Evil Genius Games cease use of all “Licensed Property and Netflix intellectual property.” Netflix allegedly offered to pay Evil Genius Games $50,000 to “basically go away, forgive Netflix for its pretextual hijacking of the project, and hand over the game to them.”
Evil Genius Games is suing for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and other claims. IGN has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
