Quentin Tarantino finally revealed his next project. And surprise! It’s not his long-awaited 10th, and potentially final film. Since scrapping his screenplay for The Film Critic, because, as a source told Deadline, he simply changed his mind, the 61-year-old auteur has apparently written a stage play.
“Oh, the play is all written. It is absolutely the next thing I’m going to do,” Tarantino told The Church of Tarantino podcast, according to World of Reel.
We Knew This Was Coming
In 2021, after writing and publishing a novelization of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, which expands on the plot and characters’ backstories, Tarantino told /Film he was adapting the film into a stage play.
Then, in August of 2024, he hinted to Bill Maher that he was writing a comedic play for the stage, saying, “I’m leaning more towards writing right now–trying for a while, anyway–theater. And in theater, it would be funny stuff.”
A screenshot from Kill Bill – YouTube, RokettoJanpu
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If the play was successful, however, he explained, he might consider turning it into a movie. It would hardly be the first time that a playwright adapted his work for the screen. Tennessee Williams reworked his Pulitzer-Prize winning play A Streetcar Named Desire for the silver screen, and David Mammet did the same with Glengarry Glen Ross.
But Tarantino, as we well know, is a very different sort of writer.
Whether or not this upcoming play, which he intends to start producing early next year, is the comedy, or if he’s written a third play, is unknown. At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, he didn’t provide any details and just expressed his enthusiasm for the medium. “You can’t tape it. There is no cell phone. You own the audience for the duration of the play every night. It’s a great night out. It’s worth it for them. That’s f–ing exciting!”
Tarantino’s Future
The one thing we know is that the play is going to open in London’s West End.
“I’m having a great time with my kids and with my family and everything. So let me just hang out with my family for the whole rest of the year, and then I’ll more than likely move to England and bring my family with me and start working on the plane,” he told The Church of Tarantino.
“It’s probably going to take up a year and a half to two years of my life,” Tarantino said of his stage play. Apparently, we shouldn’t expect any movie news for a while. Not that he seems in any rush to get back behind the camera.
Quentin Tarantino delays final movie to work on stage play: “Theater isn’t another mountain to climb, it’s an ocean voyage” January 27th. #Sundance2025 via @FarOutMag pic.twitter.com/wWwie9FHg0
— Quentin Tarantino News (@QTarantino_news) January 28, 2025
At Sundance he said, “I’m in no hurry to actually jump into production. I’ve been doing that for 30 years.” Tarantino went on, explaining that he’d rather hold off on another movie until his children are old enough to appreciate and remember the experience.
We’ll Still See Tarantino’s Work on Screen
Director David Fincher has already started shooting The Adventures of Cliff Booth, from a script written by Tarantino. The Netflix-produced film, expected to stream next year, will see Brad Pitt reprising his Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood role.
Quentin Tarantino sits for an interview – YouTube, Channel 4 News
When or if Tarantino will return to a director’s chair in Hollywood, remains uncertain. Speaking of the stage play to Maher, he said, “[If] it’s a smash hit? It might be my last movie.”
What do you think? Are you interested to see where this new stage play direction takes Tarantino? Or would you rather he stick with movies? Sound off in the comments below!
