Quentin Tarantino’s The Movie Critic, which was supposed to be his final movie, is no longer happening, and after details about it confirming the shared universe theory, its cancelation is a huge relief. Quentin Tarantino is one of the most popular, respected, but also controversial filmmakers of his generation, and there’s always a lot of speculation about his next project. Tarantino has said for years that he will retire after making 10 movies, and as he counts both Kill Bill movies as one, he now has one more movie to go before his planned retirement.
In March 2023, Tarantino announced the completion of the script for The Movie Critic, his 10th and final movie. Not much was known about the plot of The Movie Critic, except that it was set in the 1970s and the main character wrote movie reviews for a porno magazine. However, in April 2024, it was reported that Tarantino had scrapped The Movie Critic, and since then, more details about the potential story for The Movie Critic have emerged. One idea would have confirmed the Tarantino movie shared universe, which wouldn’t have been as good as it probably sounds.
Related
Quentin Tarantino Scrapping The Movie Critic Revives Hopes For His Best Sequel
Quentin Tarantino’s The Movie Critic is no longer happening, and this has revived hopes for his best sequel, despite saying it won’t happen.
The Movie Critic Could Have Confirmed The Tarantino Movie Universe In The Messiest Way
An Idea For The Movie Critic Would Have Included Past Tarantino Characters
The Movie Critic had only cast one actor before its cancelation, and it was Brad Pitt. When The Movie Critic’s cancelation was announced, it was revealed that the story had morphed into a continuation of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Pitt would have reprised his role as Cliff Booth. Now, more details about the potential plot for The Movie Critic have been revealed, and one would have included characters from past Tarantino movies, through which the movie would have confirmed the famous Tarantino movie shared universe theory.
According to THR, among the ideas for The Movie Critic was one that would have made it the most meta Tarantino movie by bringing back some of his earliest movies. The idea was for these to exist in the same era as The Movie Critic, which would have given Tarantino the chance to bring back actors from those movies to reprise their roles in “movie within a movie” moments to match the style of The Movie Critic – after all, most of them are set in the 1990s. Another possibility was bringing those actors back to play fictional versions of themselves as the actors who played the characters.
The Tarantino Movie Universe Explained (& Where The Movie Critic Would Have Fit)
The Tarantino Movie Universe Is Divided Into Two Levels
Quentin Tarantino’s movies haven’t been safe from theories, with one suggesting all of his movies are connected in some way and thus are part of the same universe. Tarantino actually confirmed this at some point, but this shared universe is not simple. The Tarantino movie shared universe is divided into two levels: the main movie universe and the movie-in-a-movie universe. The first level is where most of his movies exist, which Tarantino called “the realer than real universe”. The movies on this level are Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The second level in the Tarantino movie universe is formed by the movies the characters in the first level watch at the cinema. The movies inhabiting this level are From Dusk Til Dawn (written by Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez), both Kill Bill movies, Death Proof, and Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, which is part of the Grindhouse project along with Death Proof. This means that characters like Mr. Pink and Vincent Vega watched The Bride kill Bill and vampires taking over a bar on the big screen.
The Movie Critic’s above-mentioned idea would have further confirmed the Tarantino movie shared universe, but it would have completely messed with the levels once explained by Tarantino. It’s unclear exactly which movies would have existed in The Movie Critic, but the report mentions they would have been his “earlier movies”, meaning those that are part of the main universe. It’s possible The Movie Critic could have lived in its own part of this universe, allowing it to bring both levels together, though that would still have been confusing.
The Movie Critic’s Potential Meta Storyline Shows What Tarantino Needs To Avoid In His Final Movie
Quentin Tarantino Can Learn A Lot From The Movie Critic
The Movie Critic bringing back past Tarantino movies and characters would have fallen into fan-service territory, which isn’t something Tarantino does in his works. Tarantino’s final movie is expected to be its own thing, whether it’s an original story by him or an adaptation, and would benefit more from not having any type of links to other movies. This is also why The Movie Critic being a continuation of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood wouldn’t have been a good idea, and following his logic, it would have raised questions about it counting as its own thing or as one with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Read More
Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Sequel Plan Makes Me Relieved He Canceled His New Movie
Tarantino’s new movie was a Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel thanks to one character, and it’s good that it’s no longer happening.
Quentin Tarantino doesn’t need to go meta with his final movie nor does he need to confirm any theories about his works, and doing so would risk the quality of his 10th movie and the audience’s reaction to it. It’s to be seen what Quentin Tarantino’s 10th and final movie will be, but hopefully, it won’t have meta storylines of any kind.
Source: THR.
