One of the buzziest projects announced this year? Easily David Fincher‘s sequel to Quentin Tarantino‘s 2019 film “Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood,” which sees Brad Pitt return as the charismatic stuntman Cliff Booth. Fincher and Pitt working together again? No surprise there, given their history. But QT letting another auteur direct a script of his? That hasn’t happened in a long time, since Oliver Stone‘s “Natural Born Killers” in 1994.
READ MORE: David Fincher To Direct Brad Pitt In ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Sequel Written By Quentin Tarantino [Exclusive]
News of the project, set to shoot this summer, came as a shock to fans of both directors. But it didn’t surprise Fincher and Tarantino’s mutual moviemaking friend Steven Soderbergh. Business Insider has the scoop there, as they talked to Soderbergh about the upcoming film and how it came to fruition.
“I think [Fincher and Pitt] are always on the lookout for something to do together, and so this was, it sounds like, an unusual set of circumstances where Quentin decided he didn’t want to do it, and Brad asked him, “Can I show it to David?” and he said sure, and David read it and said let’s do it,” Soderbergh told the outlet. “That seems to be what happened. That’s not surprising at all.” The only eye-opening thing about the project for the director? “What’s surprising is Quentin’s agreeability,” he added, which makes sense, given how possessive QT is of his material and legacy.
Rumor has it that Tarantino decided not to make “The Film Critic” his tenth film because he didn’t want to do a sequel for his cinematic grand finale. Thus, when Fincher and Pitt came knocking, QT was happy to hand off the project to them. It’ll be the fourth collaboration between the actor and director and the first since 2008’s “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.” The other two are more heralded: 1995’s “Se7en” and 1999’s “Fight Club.”
Did Soderbergh know about the Fincher’s next project before the story finally leaked to the public? “I was aware, but I was also very cognizant that this was a newsworthy piece of information,” Soderbergh said. “Actually, I was surprised it took that long for the story to come out. But it’s happening, and it’s happening soon.” If the project shoots this summer, then it should premiere on Netflix sometime in 2026, but stay tuned on that.
Fans of Tarantino’s 2019 film must be happy that Cliff Booth will return onscreen soon, but what about QT’s tenth and final film? That remains a mystery, although there are always rumors of Tarantino prepping something. For now, though, Fincher taking on a Tarantino script will have to suffice.
