Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is getting a sequel that won’t be directed by Quentin Tarantino, and it’s all thanks to his pointless, self-imposed 10-movie rule. Amid all the recent announcements coming from CinemaCon, it’s been reported that Netflix is developing a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Brad Pitt set to reprise his role as stuntman Cliff Booth. But, while Tarantino is providing the script for the new movie, he’s handing directing duties over to David Fincher.
Fincher has an extensive history with Pitt, having worked with him on Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin ʙuттon, and he’s a great filmmaker with a near-flawless track record. But it just feels wrong that Tarantino isn’t directing this one. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was a pᴀssion project for the writer-director, and it has his inimitable artistic stamp all over it. And the reason he’s not directing the sequel is an arbitrary rule he’s forced on himself.
Quentin Tarantino Scrapped An Earlier Plan For Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Sequel Due To His 10 Movie Limit
Tarantino Was Set To Direct The Movie Critic As His Final Film
Tarantino’s script for the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel has grown out of an earlier project called The Movie Critic. In 2023, Tarantino was gearing up to direct The Movie Critic as his 10th and final film. For years, he’s been talking about a self-imposed limit of only directing 10 movies, because he doesn’t want to become an old, out-of-touch filmmaker whose last few movies fail to recapture his former glory. But that 10-movie rule seems to be stifling his creativity, because he’s putting too much pressure on that 10th movie and he’s unwilling to take risks.
Rather than just making a good movie, he’s second-guessing what should be his final film when the reality is that it’s okay to make 11 or 12 or 13 movies.
The Movie Critic began its life as a story about a film reviewer writing for a porno mag in ‘70s Los Angeles, but it morphed into a continuation of Cliff’s story from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. As Tarantino was getting ready to shoot the movie in early 2025, he got cold feet about his final film being a sequel and pulled the plug on the project altogether. Rather than just making a good movie, he’s second-guessing what should be his final film when the reality is that it’s okay to make 11 or 12 or 13 movies.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Sequel Never Would’ve Gone To Netflix If Tarantino Was Directing It
There’s No Way Tarantino Would Make A Movie For A Streamer
If Tarantino was directing the sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, whether it was his final film or not, there’s no way it would’ve gone to Netflix. Tarantino won’t even embrace digital video as an alternative to celluloid; he would never make a movie for a streamer, even if he and Netflix have worked together in the past (to re-release The Hateful Eight as an episodic miniseries). Tarantino is a champion of cinematic experiences on the big screen, and straight-to-streaming movies are the death of that.
