Quentin Tarantino has confirmed that he is no longer moving forward with the project titled The Movie Critic, which he had initially planned as his tenth and final film. The decision to abandon the film surfaced in April 2024, though the specifics behind this choice had yet to be publicly shared until now. Tarantino explained his shift in direction during a recent episode of The Church of Tarantino podcast, shedding light on the reasons for stepping away from this highly anticipated movie.
The Movie Critic’s Evolution from TV Series to Film
Tarantino revealed that The Movie Critic was originally conceived as an eight-episode television series. After completing the script for the show, he found himself questioning whether it should instead be a movie.
“I think when I was done [writing the show], and I knew I had done it, and now I was faced with the hard work in front of me of setting it up and doing it, I didn’t really want to do it that much,”
Tarantino said.
“That’s too strong a word to say. But it was more like, if I like this so much, could it be a movie? Is it really a movie? And that was just enough of a question that it made me want to investigate.”
He later rewrote the story as a film script and expressed happiness with the new version. However, he stressed that despite some connections, The Movie Critic was never intended to be a direct sequel or feature crossover characters from his previous work, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Clarification on Cliff Booth’s Role in The Movie Critic
One of the most significant rumors was whether Brad Pitt’s character, Cliff Booth, would appear in The Movie Critic. Tarantino firmly denied this notion.
“That was never the case, ever ever ever,”
he stated regarding Cliff Booth’s involvement. While the movie is set in the same town as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the timeline differs—it takes place in 1977 instead of 1969. This separation was an essential creative boundary for Tarantino.
He also pointed out that during pre-production, he realized a disconnect between his enthusiasm for the writing and his desire to bring it to life on screen.
“It was pre-production that made me realize that I was so excited about the writing, but I wasn’t really that excited about dramatizing what I wrote.”
Challenges and Creative Considerations Behind His Decision
Tarantino discussed how each of his films usually involves figuring out complex challenges, whether it’s recreating a historical time or orchestrating elaborate action sequences. For example, he cited the difficulty of transforming Los Angeles into 1969 Hollywood or the intricate choreography of the Kill Bill Crazy 88 battle. However, with The Movie Critic, these challenges were absent, which contributed to his uneasy feelings about the project.
“There was nothing to figure out [with The Movie Critic] because I already kind of knew more or less how to turn LA into an older time,”
Tarantino summarized.
“So it just was too much like the last one.”
This lack of new creative obstacles diminished his excitement for turning the script into a final film, leading to his decision to halt production.
Implications of Tarantino’s Choice to Abandon the Project
Quentin Tarantino’s choice to pass on The Movie Critic signals a surprising shift for the filmmaker, who had long teased this movie as the capstone of his directing career. Refocusing away from this project suggests he is seeking new creative challenges rather than revisiting similar territory. Given Tarantino’s reputation for innovative storytelling and distinct visual style, fans and critics alike will be watching closely to see what direction he pursues next. Until then, The Movie Critic remains a shelved chapter in the filmmaker’s journey, notable for its connection to Hollywood’s golden years but ultimately left behind due to artistic hesitation.
