David Fincher To Direct Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Sequel Written By Quentin Tarantino

Once upon a time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino made Once Upon A Time In Hollywood – his love-letter to late-‘60s LA, and an elegiac swan-song to a bygone age of movie-making that rewrote the tragic death of Sharon Tate in true fairytale style. But it seems we’ll find out what comes beyond that happily ever after. In news that frankly nobody saw coming, a sequel to OUTAIH is apparently in the works – but without Quentin Tarantino directing. Instead, David Fincher is set to bring it to the screen, since the film will focus on the character of stuntman Cliff Booth, played by Fincher’s regular collaborator Brad Pitt.

This isn’t totally Tarantino-free, though – QT will write the screenplay, which apparently has its roots in The Movie Critic. That’s the film that Tarantino seemed close to making in recent years, his tenth (and possibly final) feature, which the director stood down in 2024. It’s now reported that that would have been a Cliff Booth adventure; and while Fincher’s film won’t be The Movie Critic, it seems like certain ideas and scenes from that script will live on in the new movie. Tarantino has previously expanded on Booth’s life in his Once Upon A Time In Hollywood novelisation, which featured considerable amounts of extra material beyond the events of the film. At present, Leonardo DiCaprio is not expected to reprise the role of actor Rick Dalton.

This wouldn’t be the first time Tarantino handed a script to another filmmaker – see Tony Scott’s True Romance, and Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn. But that hasn’t happened since the ‘90s, and never with characters previously established in one of Tarantino’s own movies. It seems Pitt’s involvement led directly to Fincher being involved, a filmmaker worthy of a Tarantino screenplay.

Since Fincher is firmly entrenched in the Netflix ecosystem at the moment, reports indicate that he’ll make the film for the streaming service – and it may end up shooting as soon as this summer. Stay tuned for more info as the film continues to pick up speed. Who’s ready to explore Once Upon A Time A Little Bit Later In Hollywood?