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What thrilling project brings Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt and David Fincher together?
A stage play project, a novel, a new TV show idea… Since the release of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood in 2019, Quentin Tarantino hasn’t let go of his characters, actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). A spin-off of The Adventures of Cliff Booth was confirmed, directed by David Fincher and written by Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino’s second most successful film seems to be an endless source of inspiration.
and Jordan Bako.
Published on 28 August 2025. Updated on 1 April 2026.
The announcement came on April 1st, 2025, leading many to believe it was just a (bad) joke made on April Fools’ Day. According to the American media The Playlist, the film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019) will indeed be getting a spin-off, titled The Adventures of Cliff Booth.
While Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed the original film, the latter has decided to pass the torch on another director for this sequel. David Fincher will direct the second chapter, while Quentin Tarantino will focus on screenwriting.
The first trailer for David Fincher’s ‘THE ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH’ has been released.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 9, 2026
Coming soon to Netflix. pic.twitter.com/E70SJrBUzB
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood 2 scheduled for 2026?
A surprising choice from the director of Pulp Fiction, who is known for both directing and writing his films. Only two features break that rule. True Romance (1993) and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) have been written, but not directed by Quentin Tarantino.
According to The Playlist, the script for this sequel reportedly originated from the screenplay of The Movie Critic, a project initially slated for 2025 that the director ultimately abandoned. As a matter of fact, Quentin Tarantino is said to have pocketed a $20 million cheque from Netflix to write the script for this spin-off…
The first chapter brought together Brad Pitt, who won an Oscar for that role, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie. But also some of Hollywood’s most promising young actors, including Margaret Qualley, Austin Butler, Mikey Madison, who won her first Oscar for Anora, and Sydney Sweeney.
A story written by Tarantino
With nearly $400 million in box office revenue, 10 Oscar nominations, and a Golden Globe for Best Comedy Film, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood stands as one of Quentin Tarantino’s greatest commercial successes. The story follows actor Rick Dalton and his stuntman Cliff Booth against the dazzling backdrop of Hollywood in the 1970s. It also weaves in the tragic story of Sharon Tate and her encounter with the “family” of murderer Charles Manson…
The Netflix sequel marks a reunion between David Fincher and one of his go-to actors, Brad Pitt. The actor played some of the director’s most iconic roles in Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). In this spin-off, he is expected to play the same role as the stuntman he previously played in the original film. The latter used to write articles in a porn magazine.
A Netflix project gathering David Fincher and Brad Pitt
In an interview with Deadline, the F1 actor explained: “This is something Quentin Tarantino wrote. It’s an episode, not really a sequel, of the character from Once Upon a Time. He didn’t want to direct it at this point, so our friend David Fincher stepped in.”
Speaking about the choice of David Fincher as director, Quentin Tarantino said on The Church of Tarantino podcast: “I think me and David Fincher are the two best directors. So the idea that David Fincher actually wants to adapt my work, to me, shows a level of seriousness towards my work that I think needs to be taken into account.” In the same interview, he also revealed that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is his favourite film in his entire filmography. All the more reason why we can’t wait to see what David Fincher will do with it…
For now, we know that Elizabeth Debicki (Tenet, The Crown), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen), Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House), and Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0) will be in the cast. However, it remains unclear whether Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie will return as well… Negotiations between Netflix and the two actors are underway. The filming reportedly began last summer in California as the release is scheduled for 2026.
Quentin Tarantino, the writer
Beyond this screenplay, Quentin Tarantino is involved in several other ventures, despite previously saying that his next film would be his last. The American director now manages a movie theater. Indeed, he recently acquired the Vista Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, thus rescuing it from post-Covid bankruptcy. But above all, he has embraced the role of writer, expanding the world of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood into a novel and a play.
While film adaptations of novels are very common, the lesser-known genre of book adaptations of films also exists. That is exactly what Quentin Tarantino did with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, published in French by Fayard on August 25th, 2021.
Books inspired by the film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Why switch from screen to page for such a visual piece, one that even won the Oscar for Best Production Design in 2020? For the American filmmaker, it is first and foremost a way to flesh out narrative arcs left unresolved in the feature. We learn more about Cliff Booth’s (Brad Pitt) backstory. While the film ambiguously hinted at his involvement in his wife’s death, the book leaves no room for doubt…
The dialogues are more explicit, even cruder this time: “Cliff was never obsessed with a girl’s looks. As long as she lets him sink his teeth into her ass (…)” This gives readers a rawer, more unfiltered perspective on the characters. The author’s American publisher released the book with a trailer featuring a retro-style voice-over. A good way to stay in the universe of the film.
From stage to TV: The thousands lives of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino also plans to bring the story to the stage. The fictional actor Rick Dalton, played on screen by Leonardo DiCaprio, could become the main character of this new extension. The play would follow his career acting in Italian spaghetti westerns, including the period when he meets his wife, Francesca Capucci, as shown in the film. The insatiable director of Pulp Fiction is also said to be developing a five-episode TV show based on the film Bounty Law, the black-and-white embedded narrative that introduces Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
The Adventures of Cliff Booth, the sequel to Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, by David Fincher has no release date yet. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino, translated by Nicolas Richard and published by Fayard, is available in bookstores.
