More details have emerged about what was billed as Quentin Tarantino’s 10th and final film, The Movie Critic, in the wake of the writer/director’s shocking reported abandonment of the project last week.
The details come from a new report from THR today, which contains a number of interesting tidbits about how far along the movie was, who might’ve starred in it, what it could’ve been about, and why it all fell apart. The article paints a picture of a purely creative pivot on Tarantino’s part, which is in line with Deadline‘s report last week that initially broke the news.
For one thing, THR reports that, while no studio was publicly confirmed to distribute the film, Sony Pictures was “firmly on board” to partner with Tarantino on The Movie Critic following their previous successful collaboration on 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Per the report, Tarantino’s abandonment of the project hasn’t soured his relationship with the studio, and Sony still fully intends to support the famous filmmaker on whatever he decides his final project will be.
It might’ve been that very pressure to go out on a high note that led to the project’s demise. Tarantino has long said on multiple occasions that he’ll retire from filmmaking after 10 films (although Kill Bill was released in two parts, he considers them one movie), setting up quite the expectation on what could be his final effort. The sources who spoke to THR didn’t confirm exactly why he moved on from The Movie Critic as his swan song, only that “he had grown more excited by other ideas.”
A ‘Tarantino Goodbye Meta-Verse’
It was previously reported that The Movie Critic had undergone a number of rewrites as Tarantino tried to decide on what shape it would take, and today’s report says one of the ideas was that it might serve as a “Tarantino goodbye meta-verse,” weaving in stars and characters from his past movies. To that end, the report says it at one point evolved into “something resembling a spinoff” of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with Brad Pitt set to reprise his Cliff Booth character. Another idea might’ve had characters interacting with a young aspiring filmmaker at a movie theater, something of a stand-in for Tarantino himself, who worked at a porn theater as a teenager.
The project was also the subject of casting rumors, including one that Tom Cruise might collaborate with Tarantino on it. THR reports, however, that Cruise and Tarantino hadn’t even met for a role. Olivia Wilde did apparently meet with Tarantino earlier this year, although it’s unclear on what that meeting was regarding.
According to previous comments from Tarantino, The Movie Critic was set to follow a character based on a real-life writer whose reviews were a mix between an “early Howard Stern and what what Travis Bickle [Robert DeNiro’s character in Taxi Driver] might be if he were a film critic.”
It’s unclear what Tarantino will pivot to now, but it seems that The Movie Critic now joins the likes of projects by the Pulp Fiction filmmaker that’ll never see the light of day. Other reported shelved Tarantino projects include an R-rated Star Trek film and more.
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Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
