Quentin Tarantino has confirmed he's "written a script" for his 10th and final film, but he's going to "live" a little before making it.
The Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and Kill Bill filmmaker teased his plans for his long-in-development finale movie during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. He said he has a script for a film he "could" do, and it's one he also happens to "really, really like," but he's got a checklist of things to take care of before diving into it.
"I've written a script that I could do that I really, really like, but I have to do the play and see who I am, right?" Tarantino said, referencing his upcoming West End play, The Popinjay Cavalier.
"I'll finish the play, and then I'll go back, be with my family for a while, and then live and then see what that guy wants to do."
The director's words were in response to a question from show host Graham Norton, who asked about his "10th" and "final film." Tarantino didn't skip a beat when conjuring up his reply, suggesting that, yes, the plan is still for his next film to be his last whenever it does eventually hit screens.
For reference, The Popinjay Cavalier is set to start previews February 23, 2027, and then open one month later, March 18. That means we've got some waiting to do before Tarantino will begin the "then live" phase of his pre-movie plan. How long it will be before he then decides on a script, begins production, and settles on a release date remains to be seen, but don't expect to hear any significant updates for a while.
Tarantino mentioned wanting to finish his career as a movie director at film number 10 a few years before the release of his eighth film, The Hateful Eight, in 2014. As Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood came and went as his ninth project in 2019, his decision to put a cap on his big-screen presence has only become more controversial amongst fans.
A filmmaker with a very specific number of trend-setters – including Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds, and Django Unchained – the idea of intentionally ending his time as an artist has been deemed confusing and disappointing. That doesn't seem to have phased Tarantino one bit, and the time it's taken for him to get started on the final project suggests he's not in any rush to get started.
Rumors surrounding his enigmatic 10th once had moviegoers expecting him to direct what Simon Pegg called a "bats**t crazy" Star Trek film before the director eventually debunked those alleged plans himself. He was also once said to be making a project called The Movie Critic before it, too, was scrapped.
It will be some time before Tarantino directs another movie for theaters, but that doesn't mean an opportunity to see his work on the big screen is too far away. The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, a Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood follow-up written by Tarantino and directed by David Fincher, will premiere next month.
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