After previously announcing that The Movie Critic would be his tenth and final film (or 11th, depending on how you count the Kill[s] Bill), Quentin Tarantino is reportedly pivoting. On April 17, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the project is canceled. There was no solid studio attached (though a follow-up THR report claims Sony was basically all in), and nothing had been filmed yet due to numerous rewrites. Throughout the years, Tarantino has expressed that he wants his final film to be his biggest and baddest and to leave the scene before he’s, well, too old.
Tarantino said the movie went into “pre-pre-production†in June 2023, but now it seems as though it might not even happen at all, despite Tarantino receiving $20 million from the California Film Commission to film in the state, as THR reports. Tarantino himself hasn’t confirmed that the movie is totally off, but for now, here’s what we know about the The Movie Critic chaos, from casting rumors (Brad Pitt) to the latest details on what the movie would have been about.
The titular Movie Critic worked at a “porno rag.â€
Tarantino told Deadline that the lead in his tenth story was based on a real guy. One of Tarantino’s jobs as a teen was restocking a pornography-magazine vending machine. Sidestepping the legality of that as a job for a teen, Tarantino says he came to really appreciate the writing of the film critic for a “porno rag†he doesn’t want to name. “He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic. I think he was a very good critic. He was as cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern and what Travis Bickle might be if he were a film critic,†he said. “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.â€
Tarantino was supposed to film in California.
Per a Production Weekly listing, The Movie Critic was set to start filming in Los Angeles this fall. Variety previously reported in 2023 that The Movie Critic (under the working title #10) got a $20 million tax credit from the state of California. This is hardly surprising, as Tarantino loves L.A. “I started directing movies here and it is only fitting that I shoot my final motion picture in the cinema capital of the world,†he said in a statement. “There is nothing like shooting in my hometown; the crews are the best I’ve ever worked with, and the locations are amazing. The producers and I are thrilled to be making #10 in Los Angeles.†If Pitt and Tarantino agree to collaborate again, the movie couldn’t have begun shooting until maybe late this year or early 2025 anyway, due to the actor’s prior commitments with a Formula 1 racing movie.
The California Film Commission, which granted the $20 million tax credit, told the Hollywood Reporter that a Tarantino representative had been in touch as recently as mid-April. “We’ve not been notified by them about dropping or pulling out or anything,†a person close to the situation said.
Tarantino couldn’t go the Brad-Leo route for the lead.
Tarantino said he wanted to stay at least somewhat faithful to the life of this anonymous movie critic. That means he couldn’t offer the lead to Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio, as they’re both older than this guy ever got. “I haven’t decided yet, but it’s going to be somebody in the 35-year-old ball park. It’ll definitely be a new leading man for me,†Tarantino said at Cannes. He also said he’d rather not cast a Brit in the role, but other than that he’s keeping mum. Rumors are pointing to Paul Walter Hauser, but those remain unconfirmed.
Brad Pitt could have been involved in some capacity, though.
Hollywood’s rumor mill churned out reports that would make a film bro blush. Namely, that Pitt might actually star in The Movie Critic after all. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter in February 2024 that Tarantino’s recent collaborator was circling a role, though it was unclear if an actual deal on the table was ever inked and ready to go. What would his role have been, since he’s likely far too elderly to play a 35-year-old? The Editor, perhaps? Apparently not. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pitt was set to turn The Movie Critic into something of a Once Upon a Time spinoff by reprising his role as stuntman Cliff Booth.
But Tarantino nixed the pic about flix.
Okay, never mind! Deadline reported on April 17 that Tarantino had “changed his mind†about The Movie Critic and would start from square one on what his tenth and final film will be. Apparently, Tarantino was toying with a couple different plot ideas during rewrites. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter this week that one possibility was for the film to be a farewell meta-verse, with characters from his previous films making cameos to reprise their characters in “movie within a movie†moments. (Alternatively, they could have played fictional versions of the actors playing those roles.) Reportedly, another idea was for The Movie Critic to include a movie theater where characters could meet a future filmmaker … say, a 16-year-old Tarantino, who really did work as an usher at a porn theater.
Ultimately, Tarantino is said to have become more excited by other movie ideas. Sony Pictures, which was unofficially attached to The Movie Critic, reportedly now plans to partner with Tarantino for whatever his next film will be instead. QT is set on having a decalog of films, so this last one has to be a goodie. Or he could, you know, just make movies until it feels bad, whatever. In the meantime, Tarantino has a couple revival theaters in L.A. that need his attention.
This post has been updated throughout.