Quentin Tarantino‘s presumed final film, The Movie Critic, is DOA. As the news broke, more details about the film have arisen, including an interesting Once Upon a Time in Hollywood twist that includes Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt).
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Pitt was in talks to reprise the role of Cliff Booth in The Movie Critic. In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pitt plays Cliff, the washed-up stunt double of Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio). The performance landed Pitt his first-ever acting Oscar.
THR notes that it's unclear if The Movie Critic would have been a prequel or sequel for Cliff. Originally, Tarantino had formed the idea based on a cynical movie critic and it would take place in 1977 (years after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
However, Tarantino evolved the story to eventually include Cliff. It could make sense either way — Cliff lives at the end of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, albeit very injured. Cliff was also very successful before he was accused of murdering his wife.
It's such a bummer that one of Pitt's signature roles won't get a follow-up. Granted, Tarantino did write a novelization for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which filled in some of the blanks with his character.
Quentin Tarantino not giving Cliff Booth another story is a bummer
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was a dense film with lots of meat left on its bones. It largely followed Rick Dalton's journey, but Brad Pitt stole the show as Cliff.
The film did show glimpses of Rick's prime, as he starred in the popular TV show, Bounty Law. It's clear that he was once at the top of the game, much like DiCaprio is in real life. We also know that Cliff was a successful stuntman at one time, but we hardly see it.
The only backstory provided is the teases of him killing his wife. It's integral to the story, yes, but imagine getting to see more of that in The Movie Critic. Or even if it went the other way and was a continuation of his story, both possibilities are exciting.
Seeing what happened to Cliff Booth would have been awesome
Beginning with the latter option, getting a follow-up on Cliff's life after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is much needed. In the film, Cliff takes on the members of Charles Manson's cult that killed Sharon Tate in real life. However, in the film's alternate reality, they end up attacking Rick Dalton's estate first.
Cliff ultimately fights them off, though it takes a toll on him. He's stabbed and rushed to the hospital in the immediate aftermath of the showdown. Rick promises to visit him at the hospital the next day — hopefully, he remembered the bagels!
He probably did survive, but what happened to his career? After all, Cliff and Rick were having a boys' night out before they were to go their separate ways. They spent a few months in Italy before returning to the United States. It'd be fascinating to see where Cliff went, with or without Rick.
Perhaps his reputation has been cleared. He did save the Dalton residence and Sharon Tate (unbeknownst to anyone in the film's canon). Maybe he has a career resurgence as well. Either way, seeing him attempt to land work, especially without Rick vouching for him, is an interesting prospect.
A prequel would also work
Even if Quentin Tarantino decided to go the opposite route and set his scrapped film before the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, there were a lot of stories to tell for one Cliff Booth.
In his prime, he was a legend. He worked on Spahn Ranch on Bounty Law for years. The film could even show Cliff before he began working with Rick.
Sure, it may take some de-aging technology or extra prosthetics, but it'd be great to see Cliff in his prime. Tarantino could even further explore his relationship with his wife leading up to her death.
Either way, Quentin Tarantino will be fine
In Tarantino we trust. Regardless of what his next project is, I'm sure he will close out his illustrious feature filmmaking career with a bang. While there is some overlap in his films, it could have been unique to see The Movie Critic with its Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ties. It's the closest thing to a cinematic universe film that we'll likely ever see Tarantino make.
As for Brad Pitt, he'll be just fine if he has to leave Cliff Booth back forever. The role did its part in landing him his first Oscar win.
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