Academy Award-winning director Quentin Tarantino is no longer planning to make The Movie Critic, the film he previously outlined as his ‘final’ behind the camera. Sources close to the Pulp Fiction auteur told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday that while he had initially planned to start shooting later this year, Tarantino is distancing himself from the project altogether. What was set to be a thrilling conclusion to one of cinema’s great careers is now in limbo, with no word yet on what will replace The Movie Critic as Tarantino’s tenth and final film.
‘The Movie Critic’ Background
The shock scrapping of The Movie Critic comes after months of quiet promotion, with cast rumours and potential plot lines flooding the internet. The film, which was to be set in 1977 California, was reportedly fixed to follow the exploits of a real-life movie critic that Tarantino discovered as a teenager. The then-aspiring filmmaker reportedly stumbled upon this critic’s work in a low-brow magazine while restocking a vending machine and was captivated by his cynical and insightful writing style. While the unnamed critic would tragically pass in his 30s, his legacy left an indelible influence on Tarantino’s work.
“His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern and what Travis Bickle might be if he were a film critic,” Tarantino told Deadline in 2023. “He wrote like he was 55 but he was only in his early to mid-30s. He died in his late 30s. It wasn’t clear for a while but now I’ve done some more research and I think it was it was complications due to alcoholism.”
‘The Movie Critic’ Cast Rumours
The Movie Critic was also set to mark a reunion with long-time collaborator Brad Pitt, with reports even suggesting A-lister Tom Cruise was linked to the project. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Pitt’s iconic stuntman Cliff Booth, the character that snagged him an Oscar in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, was destined to play a major role in the highly-anticipated film. Sources have not confirmed if the project was set to be a prequel or sequel, and it appears fans will never know.
Tarantino Scraps ‘The Movie Critic’
According to Variety, sources say Tarantino is completely done with the project. “He won’t be looking to rewrite the script or revive the project, instead making plans to move on to something new,” the publication noted. While reports state the director is definitive in his stance, it wouldn’t be the first time Tarantino has returned to a project after shelving it.
In 2014, Tarantino spectacularly dropped plans to make The Hateful Eight after a rough draft of the script leaked online, a move that he labelled a “betrayal.” Despite noting that he had “no desire to make it,” the director returned to the film and The Hateful Eight was released in 2015.
Tarantino’s Final Film
At present, Tarantino has nine films under his belt, excluding his first original feature My Best Friend’s Birthday and counting Kill Bill Volume One and Two collectively. The distinction is important in that Tarantino previously expressed a desire to call it quits after 10 films. The auteur remarked that filmmakers begin to get stale at a certain point and knowing when to finish up was key to going out on top.
“I want to stop at a certain point. Directors don’t get better as they get older. Usually, the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end,” he told Playboy. “I am all about my filmography, and one bad film f—s up three good ones. I don’t want that bad, out-of-touch comedy in my filmography, the movie that makes people think, ‘Oh man, he still thinks it’s 20 years ago.’ When directors get out-of-date, it’s not pretty.”
Tarantino has yet to make an official statement regarding The Movie Critic and there is no confirmation on what the award-winning filmmaker is set to work on next.
Quentin Tarantino Filmography as Director
- 1992 – Reservoir Dogs
- 1994 – Pulp Fiction
- 1997 – Jackie Brown
- 2003 – Kill Bill: Volume 1
- 2004 – Kill Bill: Volume 2
- 2007 – Grindhouse: Death Proof
- 2009 – Inglourious Basterds
- 2012 – Django Unchained
- 2015 – The Hateful Eight
- 2019 – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
