It's been over two years since Quentin Tarantino released his eighth theatrical movie, The Hateful Eight, but over the last couple months, the director has been preparing for Project #9. The still-untitled movie will follow a number of events taking place in Hollywood in 1969, including the Manson Family Murders. One of the people who was killed by this cult was actress Sharon Tate, and it's already been reported that Margot Robbie is in talks to play Tate for Tarantino's movie. Now it appears that Tate's husband, director Roman Polanski, will also play a role in the story.
Just so it's perfectly clear, this latest update on Quentin Tarantino's movie is not that Roman Polanski himself will appear in it, but that an actor will be playing Polanski as he was in 1969. Given that Polanski left the United States in 1978 after he was arrested and charged with raping a 13-year-old girl the year before and has primarily lived in France since then, including the actual man in this movie would be challenging on Tarantino's part and, more importantly, ignite a lot of controversy.
In any case, since Sharon Tate is expected to have a major presence in this movie, it's not too shocking to learn that Polanski will have a "key role" in the proceedings as a character. By 1969, Polanski had already directed movies like Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby and The Fearless Vampire Killers (where he met Tate), and he was in Europe working on a movie when Tate and four others were tragically murdered. As for who will play Polanski in the movie, Quentin Tarantino is supposedly going the "discovery" route and looking for an "authentic Polish thesp[ian]."
Along with providing the Roman Polanski information, Variety's Justin Kroll also tweeted out that Quentin Tarantino's movie will see Leonardo DiCaprio's character being Sharon Tate's neighbor, meaning there's a good chance he'll share some screen time with her and possibly Roman Polanski, too. DiCaprio's casting was reported last month, and it was later revealed that he will play an actor who starred on a successful Wester TV series called Bounty Law from 1958 to 1963. However, DiCaprio's character has since been struggling to find work since then, having no luck making the transition to film and having to make guest appearances on other TV shows to make ends meet. Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise have also been mentioned as being in contention for Tarantino's movie, and supposedly the role both actors have met for is not a prosecutor, but a stuntman, which would fit given the Hollywood setting.
Quentin Tarantino's next movie will be released in theaters on August 9, 2019, the 50th anniversary of Sharon Tate's murder. As we wait for more news about this project, check out our 2018 release schedule to find out what movies are heading to a theater near you this year.
