A sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood – titled The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth – is brewing with David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) directing a script written by Tarantino.
Frequent Fincher/Tarantino collaborator Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds) will reprise his role as Cliff Booth, the tough-guy Hollywood stuntman portrayed in the first movie.
For the sequel, it’s the late 70’s, and Cliff has transitioned from stuntman to “Hollywood studio fixer”. As a “fixer,” Booth would be the guy studios call when something—anything—needs to quietly disappear. Scandals, blackmail, problematic stars, even bodies. He operates in the shadows, loyal, unshakable, and totally unfazed by the dirt beneath Hollywood’s golden surface. It’s a natural evolution for a character already written as a war hero, stuntman, and possibly even a murderer (via World of Reel).
Co-starring alongside Pitt are Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown, Tenet), Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Carla Gugino (American Gangster) and Corey Fogelmanis (I Wish You All the Best).
The latest actor to join the film is JB Tadena (CW’s Kung Fu) who is presumed to take on the role of Bill Vergara, a Filipino mobster and film financier (via World of Reel).
There was some talk about Leonardo DiCaprio returning as Rick Dalton, but according to The Hot Mic, Netflix offered him $3M for one day of shooting, but DiCaprio reportedly rejected the offer.
Speaking on The Big Picture podcast, Sean Fennessey, who is a friend of Tarantino’s, had the following to say: “This probably should not be thought of as a sequel. It should be thought of as a follow-up that is connected to, but not the same as — the example that was cited to me was, think about how The Big Sleep, the Raymond Chandler adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart, is in the same world as Farewell, My Lovely, the 1975 Robert Mitchum movie, because they play the same character in that movie. But it’s different actors, different directors, and a different time in the storyline. They’re different… This will be like the further adventures of Cliff Booth, is my understanding of it. The only other important information that I’ve learned, that I think is confirmed, is that the movie takes place in 1977, which is roughly eight years after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. So a different time in Cliff Booth’s life.”
The original film caused controversy with a scene that involved Cliff Booth’s (Pitt) interaction with Bruce Lee (played by Mike Moh). Shannon Lee, Bruce’s daughter, who runs the official Bruce Lee businesses and foundation, reportedly lodged a complaint with the Chinese film authorities demanding two scenes in which her late father is portrayed in a confrontation with Pitt’s stuntman character be excised, because they made the iconic Kung Fu star look arrogant. Her demands were supposedly the reason the movie was pulled from Chinese theaters one week before its release date (via LA Times).
With that said, we can only hope Mike Moh reprises his role as Bruce so the two can go for another round. After all, it’s just a movie, right?
The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth is currently in production.
We’ll keep you updated as we hear more. Until then, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Brad Pitt in the film (via Just Jarod), followed by the Trailer to the original:
It’s funny and sad how people are bitching about this. Very few people have anything constructive to share. The Killer ‘23 was an interesting and well thought out film, and although it wasn’t full on action, Fincher filmed those scenes well, and I’d like to see him do more action fare.
Totally agree with you there. People can’t take anything these days.
2025 David Fincher isn’t 1995 David Fincher. Man hasn’t made a top tier movie since Zodiac and that’s almost 2 decades ago now. He really belongs where he is now on Netflix. And now he’s doing a spinoff sequel of Tarantino’s most boring movie.
That’s ridiculous. Mank and The Killer ‘23 were good enough to be in theatres, but making movies for Netflix is not a downgrade. I like that he has a contract with them.
You could argue a 2 week token theatrical window doesn’t really count as a theatrical release. Also Netflix admitted that their content is designed to be watched while you are scrolling on your phone at the same time
Not all their content – just the ‘ambient viewing’ productions like ‘You’ etc. where the majority of the major plotpoints are verbal. ‘Ripley’ is a great example of programming that is not ambient viewing and relies on full visual engagement from the viewer.
I don’t get it. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino’s worst, especially because of his hubris and condescending perspective on for example Bruce Lee. How is this getting a sequel?
Looking forward to this, but if it’s set in 1977 no chance of a Bruce Lee cameo unless it’s a flashback or dream sequence.
There’s a third option – the ‘No Retreat, No Surrender’ approach!
They can always do the other Bruces.
Ideally it would be great if there was a flashback sequence where Bruce and Cliff have a proper rematch that’s longer and more competitive.
What would really work story-wise is if Bruce won, and Cliff was feeling shitty after that, and then in the present day, he has to take on more dangerous opponents and “get his thunder back.”
Quentin should stop writing and directing.
He could be a great Frankenstein’s creature without needing any make-up. Just two nails and voilà!
Make for Netflix make me doubt the quality. I haven’t seen anything on Netflix that I like with the exception of Extraction.
Agree with you there. Extraction and its sequel are the only ones I’ve seen that were solid.
Hoping for the best with this one!
Maybe The Night Comes For Us doesn’t count since it wasn’t made by Netflix, but I would list that, Havoc, Kate, The Killer ‘23, The Gray Man, The Adam Project, Day Shift, Beverly Hills Cop 4, The Old Guard 1&2, Carter, The Irishman, Tick Tick Boom, and a ton of others.
I don’t know where this idea comes from that being a Netflix film automatically makes something inferior.
its cos Netflix’s CEO admitted that their “content” is designed to be “consumed” while a phone is in your hand. This type of movie is one level below switch your brain off and enjoy
Well, I don’t have a phone in my hand when I watch Tick Tick Boom or The Shadow Strays, and if anybody from Netflix knew, I doubt they’d be telling me that I’m watching incorrectly.
I don’t subscribe to the bullshit notion that modern movies are for people on their phones all the time. So much so, that I’m a dictator with my friends when we watch movies and I tell them “put your fucking phone away and pay attention.” (Jokingly)
I forgot about The Shadow Strays. That was really good, too.
In this instalment, Booth is going to knock Mohammad Ali out with a single punch.
In the third film, he will travel back in time to defeat Miyamoto Musashi in a sword fight, cutting his head clean off.
In the final chapter, he will ascend to heaven and throw God (played by Tarantino, of course) down the stairway.
You and Tarantino need to collaborate. =)