A Hollywood rumor has been gaining momentum over the last few days—one that sounds almost too wild to be true. Reports suggest that David Fincher is in talks to direct a sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, with Brad Pitt reprising his role as Cliff Booth. Even more surprising, the project is supposedly a reworking of Tarantino’s scrapped script The Movie Critic, which was initially set to be the filmmaker’s final movie before he decided to abandon it.
According to Deadline and Variety, the story goes that Pitt was so enamored with The Movie Critic that he took the initiative to find a director willing to take it on, securing Tarantino’s blessing in the process. The result? Fincher—who has worked with Pitt on Se7en and Fight Club—is now reportedly in talks to helm the film, transforming it into a continuation of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood rather than an entirely separate project.
While details remain scarce, one of the biggest questions is whether Leonardo DiCaprio would return as Rick Dalton and whether Margot Robbie would reprise her role as Sharon Tate. The original film featured a sprawling ensemble cast, many of whom have since risen to greater prominence—especially Sydney Sweeney, Austin Butler, and Mikey Madison, who won this year’s Best Actress Oscar for Anora.
If this project comes to fruition, it would be an unexpected move for David Fincher, who has been exclusively working with Netflix for the past several years. His recent films for the streamer include Mank (2020) and The Killer (2023), along with the critically acclaimed series Mindhunter. Fincher has a long history of being attached to projects that never materialize, so it’s best to take this news with cautious optimism.
Tarantino, known for directing his own scripts, has occasionally stepped aside to let others handle his stories, as seen with True Romance (Tony Scott), From Dusk Till Dawn (Robert Rodriguez), and Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone). If this sequel happens, it would mark one of the most ambitious reinterpretations of his work yet. Whether or not Fincher actually signs on, the very idea of a Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood follow-up is sure to keep film fans speculating for months to come.