The End Of One Battle After Another Is Wild, And We Had To Ask Leonardo DiCaprio And Benicio Del Toro What They Think Happens Next

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for One Battle After Another. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another has many tremendous qualities (as critics have ebulliently acknowledged), but one of its most awe-inspiring aspects is its scale and depth. The film is loosely based on the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, but Anderson gives the world a life of its own – full of colorful characters and righteous political revolution. When the credits roll, one isn't left with the sense that the lives of these people are over... but that leaves the question: what does the future have in store for them?

In answering this question, there are few better sources to use than the stars of the film, and CinemaBlend's Jeff McCobb asked the actors for their thoughts on what's to come for their characters during the recent Los Angeles press day for One Battle After Another – having the opportunity to sit down with stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyona Taylor and Chase Infiniti.

Bob Is Getting Into Music While Sensei St. Carlos Gets Back To The Dojo

Through the events of One Battle After Another, Leonardo DiCaprio's Pat Calhoun/Bob Ferguson and Benicio Del Toro's Sensei St. Carlos prove to be strong allies. When Sean Penn's Col. Steven J. Lockjaw comes looking for the French 75 with intentions of covering up the interracial affair that led to the birth of Chase Infiniti's Charlene Calhoun/Willa Ferguson, they prove to be a successful team, with the martial arts teacher able to provide enough support and resources to overcome the former revolutionary's burnout-caused incompetence. So where do they go after the end?

At the end of the movie, Bob gets to experience some emotional catharsis with his daughter when he shares a letter from her mother, and the last we see of Sensei St. Carlos is him being arrested... but Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro envision happy lives for both of them. They shared the idea that the former might be getting into music, while also revealing that there was a deleted scene that showed what happened to the latter:

• Leonardo DiCaprio: Where did our characters end up?
• Benicio Del Toro: You'll be playing something, some band or something, right? You bought some stuff?
• Leonardo DiCaprio: Yeah, A Block Past Normal. I'll go with the local band, play at the local pub.
• Benicio Del Toro: There was one scene. I think that was something that we shot like, for after. That [PTA] didn't use. But I was back in the dojo teaching… I think I'll be there too. Right. I'll be back… I know some people in high places.

Bob certainly doesn't seem well-suited to get back into revolutionary activities, so it's probably for the best that he put more of his energy into music. And it's certainly great to hear that Sensei St. Carlos is still fighting the good fight in more ways than one.

Deandra May Or May Not Be In Prison, But There's No Closure Envisioned For Perfidia

While there was a fair amount of optimism shared by Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro for events beyond what we see in One Battle After Another, a different tone came out of the room with Regina Hall, Teyona Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. Instead of music and martial arts, the futures for Deandra and Perfidia Beverly Hills aren't looked upon with the same kinds of rose-colored glasses.

Much like how Sensei St. Carlos supports Bob in the film, Regina Hall's Deandra is a wonderful protector of Willa when Col. Lockjaw comes looking for her – but the return for her efforts may not be a peaceful life. While Jeff tried to make her consider otherwise during the interview, Hall thinks that the character may now be locked up:

But what about Perfidia? The character physically exits from One Battle After Another fairly early, as she betrays the French 75 by naming names and then escapes to freedom in Mexico – but she doesn't totally leave her old life behind, as indicated by the aforementioned letter that she sends to her daughter. Even after more than a decade-and-a-half, she is still looking for peace and perhaps a way back to her child:

• Teyana Taylor: Oh, I don't think there’s any closure.
• Regina Hall: She’s done broke some man’s heart.
• Teyana Taylor: Probably so, because you know Perfidia is a heartbreaker. But I also think that per her letter, you know, I think she's doing a lot of reflecting. I think there's a lot of reflecting. I think she's sorry. And I think that, you know, I think she's just hoping for a day that is safe enough to get back to her baby.

The only principal character who we really get proper closure with in One Battle After Another is the fascistic Col. Lockjaw, who gets assassinated by the Christmas Adventurers Club – and at the end of the day, I think the two word response to that particular character is, "Good riddance!"

Also featuring the talents of Alana Haim, Shayna McHayle, Wood Harris, and Tony Goldwyn, One Battle After Another is now playing in theaters everywhere, having dominated the competition this weekend during its opening weekend at the box office. Given that the movie is so incredibly great, you can be sure that we'll be writing plenty more about it in the months ahead – not only as we reflect on the best movies to be released in 2025 but also as we get deeper and deeper into the upcoming awards season (Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro surely think that Paul Thomas Anderson is overdue for winning Hollywood's highest honor).