The follow-up to Quentin Tarantino’s Academy Award-winning comedy-drama Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is reportedly headed to streaming, but with how high-profile the original movie is, it’s fair to wonder if it will receive a theatrical release as well. The sequel is reportedly in development based on a Tarantino script, and will focus on Brad Pitt’s stunt double character Cliff Booth as opposed to the dual-lead setup of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The script is a reworked iteration of what was supposed to be Tarantino’s 10th and final film, The Movie Critic.

In an interesting twist, the sequel will be handed off to another iconic director in David Fincher. Fincher is, of course, a frequent collaborator with Brad Pitt; they’ve worked together on Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin ʙuттon. It’s rare that the sequel to a mᴀssive theatrical and critical hit from a legendary auteur would not only be taken over by another elite director, but also change from a theatrical release to streaming. With so many big-name players involved, the straight-to-streaming route seems unusual, but there’s a good reason for it.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Sequel Is Going To Netflix Thanks To David Fincher

Fincher Has An Exclusive Deal With Netflix

David Fincher is currently locked into an exclusive first-look deal with Netflix, which began in 2020 and then was extended another three years into 2027, per World of Reel. Fincher has produced some of the platforms top hits in both movies and TV, as he has worked on or created House of Cards, Mindhunter, Love, Death & Robots, Mank, and The Killer over the last few years. Fincher currently has a few other projects in the works with Netflix aside from the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood sequel, including a Squid Game: America series.

With Fincher stepping in as the director of the follow-up to Tarantino’s 1960s-styled opus, the movie will automatically move to the streaming platform as part of Fincher’s exclusive deal. While the original movie was released by Sony Pictures in 2019, Variety notes that Tarantino negotiated a deal that would give him back the movie’s copyright after an undisclosed number of years. With the sequel headed to Netflix, it seems reasonable to think that Tarantino must have the copyright back, removing another possible complication to the theatrical-to-streaming transition.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Sequel Is Unlikely To Get A Theatrical Release From Netflix

Fincher Likely Won’t Push For A Theatrical Release

The sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has reportedly been fast-tracked, with Fincher and Pitt both prioritizing the movie likely thanks in large part to the unique circumstances surrounding its development. Early reports indicate it will begin shooting at some point in 2025, and while what is likely a large budget and more complex casting list will take some time to get situated, it’s not unreasonable to think that the sequel could release on Netflix as soon as 2026. With such a mᴀssive array of Hollywood A-listers attached to the project, a simultaneous theatrical release seems plausible.

It wouldn’t be the first time an unconventional release schedule has been used. Right now, Netflix and IMAX have a deal to release Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie for two weeks exclusively in IMAX, so it’s not unreasonable to think that something similar could happen. However, it doesn’t seem as though it’s something Fincher would necessarily push for, as he won’t have much stake in the game for a wide theatrical release given his exclusivity with Netflix. Unless Tarantino included a theatrical release in the deal to hand the movie off to Fincher and Netflix, it seems unlikely to happen.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Sequel Deserves A Theatrical Release

The Follow-Up To An Oscar-Winning Masterpiece Should Be Seen On A Big Screen

Given that Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is widely regarded as one of the best movies of the 2010s, it seems wrong that a sequel would get the small-screen treatment. Tarantino’s comedy-drama is a love-letter to 1960s Hollywood, so to see the story continue on a streaming platform almost feels like an insult to the first movie’s intention. It was also marked by unbelievable production design and memorable performances from some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, all of which can be appreciated more completely in an immersive theater experience as opposed to a tablet or smart TV.

It’s obviously very early in the production cycle for the upcoming sequel, but with a director and star on board and an (ᴀssumedly) excellent script already on the page, it seems like details will start to flow as the summer begins. As it stands, David Fincher’s exclusive deal with Netflix will keep the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood sequel on the streaming platform. However, there is plenty of time for some sort of deal to be worked out that maybe allows the story of Cliff Booth to continue on the silver screen.

Source: World of Reel, Variety