Tarak Decimus was the prince of Samandrai. After his world was defeated by the Motherworld, he moved to Neu-Wodi to work as an indentured servant to a rancher to pay off a life debt. He was portrayed by Staz Nair in Rebel Moon. Nair's agency was first to confirm his character's name.
Biography[]
The end of Samandrai.
Tarak Decimus of Samandrai was the noble prince of his homeworld. The planet came into conflict with the Motherworld and his father, the king, insisted on delivering his terms in person. The Motherworld's response was to send his dead body back to Samandrai, followed later with a full-on attack. His mother convinced him to flee, staying behind, herself, as the Motherworld ships crashed through their city. The city fought back with warriors mounted on bennus, but they were ultimately no match for a dreadnought-class battle cruiser.
Tarak introduces himself to the bennu.
Tarak wound up owing a debt of 
300,000 to Hickman, a Neu-Wodi rancher, Hickman, for whom he worked as an indentured servant to pay it off. Honor-bound to see out his debt, he initially refused to join the Veldt resistance when they came to ask for his help. No fan of the Realm, Tarak would glady fight with them if his debt were paid, but Kora and Gunnar didn't have such an amount. Hickman offered them a wager, instead. Tarak could attempt to tame Beatrice, Hickman's bennu, and if successful, Tarak's debt would be cleared. If he failed, however, Kora, Gunnar, and Kai would join Tarak in chains. They agreed and Tarak was able to ride Beatrice, so Hickman allowed him to leave.
Admiral Noble catches the rebels.
Tarak joined Kora on their quest, but they were double-crossed by Kai, who handed them over to Admiral Atticus Noble on Gondival. Gunnar managed to release Kora and Nemesis, the latter of whom split the lock on the ecto-restraints that held Tarak, enabling him to fight back against their captors. They won the battle and returned to Veldt for their payment, where Tarak noted that it would have been a beautiful place to die.[2]
Tarak leads the villagers into battle.
Their celebration was short lived, as not long after arriving, Aris informed them that The King's Gaze was still on its way, and as such, the job wasn't complete. Tarak helped train the villagers of Veldt in combat and, when the time came to fight, he led a team of villagers alongside Titus' team. As they moved forward, the march of the Imperium soldiers seemed never to end, with each eave of defeated enemies followed quickly by the next. When Milius charged forward to take down an Imperium mech, Tarak advanced to help them recover. When it looked like they'd both delved too deeply into the enemy ranks, JC-1435 stepped in and took down the remaining soldiers and the second mech.
Tarak celebrates the end of the battle.
While Tarak and the other rebels fought in the wheat fields of Veldt, Kora and Gunnar fought aboard The King's Gaze above. They successfully disabled it, sending it rocketing to the ground. Devra Bloodaxe and her resistance group joined in at the end to pick off the remaining Imperium ships, which could have still posed a serious threat to the victorious ground forces. When the dust cleared, Titus encouraged Kora to continue her fight against the Imperium by finding Princess Issa and Tarak agreed to join her.[3]
Abilities[]
- Bilingualism: Tarak's mother tongue was Samandrait, while he was also fluent in Mothertongue, the language of the Motherworld.
- Beast taming: Tarak was very in tune with nature, enabling him to tame a bennu, a griffin-like beast, that was believed to be unrideable.
- Weapons mastery: Tarak was proficient with a variety of weapons, likely part of his royal training. In particular, he was skilled with using axes to rush his opponents, and even break their necks with his arms.
- Knot throwing: Tarak was exceptional at the throwing of knots, which was a skill he used to casually lasso Beatrice's beak from atop her back without any worry of missing. He also used this skill to loop a Gondivalian buoy on which Kora was stranded so that she could be pulled back to the docks.
Relationships[]
Hervor was a Veldt villager Tarak met shortly after arriving at the village. The two flirted as the village worked to gather the wheat and build their defenses, then they eventually spent a night together.
Titus and Tarak developed a close bond during their time on Veldt. They fought together during the battle and Tarak felt comfortable enough to tease him about drinking the water instead of alcohol. Titus also stood up for Tarak when Kai accused him of being a coward.
Milius was one of the members of the Veldt resistance that Tarak had the closest relationship with. He attempted to comfort them after the death of Darrian Bloodaxe, and they both agreed to die fighting side by side.
Appearance chronology[]
Curse of Forgiveness flashback
Behind the scenes[]
Staz Nair cites Akira Kurosawa, Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Carter, and Conan the Barbarian as his inspiration for portraying Tarak.
Tarak wore a necklace with a pendant bearing the symbol of a bennu. The necklace was a gift from Joana Tavira-Nair, Nair's wife. She gave it to him as a celebratory gift for landing the role of Tarak and its design was pulled from a 19th-century wax seal with a griffin meant to represent vigilance and guardianship. As the bennus (based on griffins) of Samandrai were also an important part of Tarak's culture, Nair suggested to the director, Zack Snyder, that Tarak would also wear this necklace.[4] Snyder agreed and the design became the sigil for the House of Decimus.[5]
Gallery[]
See also: Images of Tarak
References[]
- ↑ This character's physical traits are based on those of Staz Nair, who portrays Tarak.
- ↑ Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Shay Hatten (writers) & Zack Snyder (director). December 22, 2023. Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire.
- ↑ Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Shay Hatten (writers) & Zack Snyder (director). April 19, 2024. Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver.
- ↑ Samantha Leathers. "Rebel Moon star explains how wife's gift turned into major plot point in Zack Snyder flick". Daily Express US. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved on December 23, 2023. “I won't tell you too much but in the second movie, this necklace says a lot about my family. This gave a backstory to the movie and it's all thanks to my wife's ingenious present and Zack's willingness to involve it.”
- ↑ Rebel Moon Ending Explained: A Guide to Part One - A Child of Fire. Tudum. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved on December 23, 2023.
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