Since around the time Quentin Tarantino was working on The Hateful Eight, he’s been saying that he plans on finishing his career as a filmmaker after his tenth film. This summer, the director releases his ninth film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. However, there are no guarantees that we’ll be getting a tenth film from Quentin Tarantino, he could be done with movies after Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Addressing the possibility, Tarantino said:
Well, um, if it’s really well received, maybe I won’t go to 10. Maybe I’ll stop right now! Maybe I’ll stop while I’m ahead. We’ll see.
Yikes, apparently Quentin Tarantino isn’t adamant about getting to the nice round figure of 10 films and could instead choose to just call it a career after Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The director seems as though he hasn’t really made a final decision as of yet, so it could potentially still go either way. Tarantino’s ninth film could be his last one or we could still be in store for one more.
On paper it would be easy to understand why Quentin Tarantino might decide to have Once Upon a Time in Hollywood be his last movie. It’s in many ways the culmination of his career, a wildly star-studded film about the movie industry, set during a time that shaped the director and the closest in his oeuvre to his breakout Pulp Fiction. Tarantino has also called Once Upon a Time in Hollywood a love letter to Los Angeles and his most personal film to date.
It seems that much of his decision whether to make another movie may hinge on how well Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is received, as Quentin Tarantino told GQ. The idea behind Quentin Tarantino’s goal of ending his filmmaking career at 10 movies has been about his desire to not overstay his welcome and to leave audiences wanting more with an unblemished 10-movie filmography.
If Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a hit and people really like it, he might decide to go out on a high note and not risk another film that could potentially disappoint and ruin his track record. So I guess Tarantino fans should all just say they don’t like the movie, regardless of how they really feel?
Tarantino might end at 9 movies or he might stick to his intended 10. What doesn’t seem likely is that he’ll go beyond 10. Speaking about his decision to stop making movies, Quentin Tarantino said:
I think when it comes to theatrical movies, I’ve come to the end of the road. I see myself writing film books and starting to write theatre, so I’ll still be creative. I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies.
This news is a bummer to hear, but something you have to respect. Just because someone is good at something doesn’t mean they have to do it forever. Quentin Tarantino doesn’t owe us anything and it would be cool to see what creative endeavors he tackles next.
The one curious thing is he said he is done with theatrical movies, so does that mean he could make non-theatrical movies, or something like a limited series? He didn’t mention those possibilities but that would be something fans could hope for. Of course his disdain for streaming and Netflix is well documented, so I wouldn’t put too much money on it.
As far as what Quentin Tarantino’s tenth movie could be we can only guess. There is the R-rated Star Trek project he’s been attached to but it would be weird for him to end with a non-original movie. Would Star Trek count as 10 in his mind or is it separate? In the past Tarantino has mentioned a 1930s gangster movie, a contemporary film and a horror film in the vein of The Exorcist as movies he’d like to make. We’ll see if any of those ideas inform his tenth flick.
You can catch Quentin Tarantino’s penultimate, or maybe final film when Once Upon a Time in Hollywood opens in theaters on July 26. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see what else you can look forward to the rest of this year.
