Quentin Tarantino admitted that walking away from the Cliff Booth sequel left him feeling guilty about Brad Pitt. He wrote the follow-up to “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” but ultimately handed directing duties to David Fincher.
Pitt earned an Oscar for playing the charismatic stuntman in the 2019 film. He also wanted to revisit the character, making Tarantino’s decision more difficult.
Quentin Tarantino felt he let Brad Pitt down by stepping away from the Cliff Booth sequel
In an interview with Empire, Tarantino said Pitt took his decision hardest.
“[Pitt] was the one I felt I was really letting down when I didn’t do it,” he admitted. “I felt bad about that.”
Pitt reportedly felt “disappointed that he wasn’t going to play Cliff Booth again,” but Fincher eventually stepped in.
The possibility of Fincher directing the sequel surprised Tarantino.
“You could have knocked me over with a feather,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Really? You think he’d be interested? Fucking yeah: show it to him!’”
However, Tarantino tried not to overwhelm Fincher with his enthusiasm. He compared their early conversations to “the male trying to talk this gorgeous woman into fucking me.” He avoided saying anything that might “fuck shit up.”
Tarantino appreciated that a director of Fincher’s stature wanted to spend a year and a half bringing his screenplay to life. He felt the decision validated his writing beyond his reputation for directing his own scripts.
The sequel, titled “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,” moves the story from 1969 to 1977, with Booth returning as a Hollywood fixer. Netflix plans an exclusive IMAX theatrical release on November 25, followed by a streaming premiere on December 23.
Tarantino’s decision means the project will not count as his tenth and final directorial feature.
Fincher previously directed Pitt in “Seven,” “Fight Club” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” He also praised the actor’s deep understanding of Booth.
“He’s so into it,” Fincher said, explaining that Pitt understood the character in ways no director could fully match.
Fincher recalled that whenever he questioned certain details, Pitt confidently responded, “No, no, no. I got this.”
Although Tarantino stepped away from directing, his enthusiasm for Fincher’s involvement helped bring the sequel to the screen.
