Tarantino’s 10th Movie Cancelation Repeats His $155 Million Hit From 9 Years Ago

Quentin Tarantino’s The Movie Critic has officially been canceled in a surprising case of cinematic history repeating itself. First announced in 2022, The Movie Critic was originally understood to be the acclaimed filmmaker’s tenth and final feature. However, as of April 2024, the project has officially been put on hold. While the news of The Movie Critic‘s cancelation has come as a shock to many, it’s not the first time a Tarantino film has found itself on the scrap heap.

The Movie Critic was originally envisioned by Tarantino as a completely original script, before the director decided to make it a spinoff of his 2019 hit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The movie was set to reunite Tarantino with Brad Pitt, who previously starred in two other films from the director, and was scheduled to go into production at some point in 2025. But now, The Movie Critic is one of several Quentin Tarantino projects that will never happen. One canceled Tarantino movie from nine years ago, however, gives The Movie Critic some hope.

The Movie Critic’s Cancelation Repeats The Hateful Eight

It’s Not The First Time A Tarantino Movie Has Been Canceled

Released in 2015, The Hateful Eight is a neo-Western drama that stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, and Walton Goggins, among others. Quentin Tarantino’s eighth feature film in total, it centers on eight strangers who all find themselves sheltering in the same cabin when a blizzard hits. The Hateful Eight garnered generally positive reviews from critics and was successful at the box office. Interestingly, the movie came close to not happening, as it was once regarded as a Tarantino movie that would never be finished.

Shortly before production of the film was due to commence, The Hateful Eight‘s script was leaked online. Tarantino, fearing that the leak had killed all enthusiasm for the project, immediately canceled the movie and declared that he would instead rework the screenplay into a novel. Nevertheless, a few months later, the director went back on his decision and instead set about writing a new version of the script with a different ending. The fact that The Hateful Eight‘s cancelation was reversed is a positive sign that The Movie Critic will one day make it to screens, regardless of its current status.

The Movie Critic Is Already Different From The Hateful Eight

Both Films Have Been Canceled, But Not For The Same Reasons

While The Hateful Eight and The Movie Critic may share the fact that they have both been dropped by Tarantino at some stage, it should be noted that the circumstances surrounding each film’s cancelation are very different. The Hateful Eight almost didn’t see the light of day because of a leak. As far as anyone is aware, Tarantino was perfectly happy with the quality of The Hateful Eight‘s script prior to it being shared online, and as such, was understandably frustrated at having to cancel his own film.

The Movie Critic’s cancelation, meanwhile, was not a result of a leak or, indeed, anything out of Tarantino’s control. Though the details are not fully known at this time, it appears that Tarantino simply wasn’t satisfied with his own work. The script for The Movie Critic underwent many rewrites before it was eventually scrapped, suggesting that the director hoped to make it work but eventually decided that the concept wasn’t what he had envisioned. A notorious perfectionist, Tarantino preferred to cancel The Movie Critic rather than make a movie he wasn’t completely happy with.