Quentin Tarantino has written a screenplay he likes for a possible tenth and final film, but he wants to “live a little” before deciding what to direct next.
The 63-year-old filmmaker shared the update on the October 16 episode of The Graham Norton Show, where he was promoting his London stage comedy, The Popinjay Cavalier.
He plans to finish the theater production and spend time with his family afterward. The potential film’s title, story and cast remain undisclosed.
Tarantino’s most recent directed feature, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, opened in 2019. He had planned to follow it with The Movie Critic, which he abandoned in April 2024.
The Popinjay Cavalier Began as a Screenplay
Tarantino told Norton that he initially developed the story for the screen before realizing that the material suited the stage. He had wanted to write a play for some time and described the result as combining swashbuckling adventure with French farce.
Sacha Baron Cohen stars as Rupert Sebastian Thomas Jr., an actor heading to Paris to perform for the Comédie-Française. Set in 1830s Europe, the comedy sends Rupert into danger after he makes ill-advised comments about the French. The production promises disguises, acrobatics and swordplay.
Baron Cohen joked that he accepted before Tarantino finished asking. “When the best director in the world calls, you don’t ask questions,” he said in the October 12 announcement from Sonia Friedman Productions.
The production marks the West End debuts of both men. Tarantino is writing and directing, with Sony Pictures Entertainment producing alongside Friedman’s company.
Previews begin at the Phoenix Theatre on February 23, 2027, ahead of the official opening on March 18. The show is booking through June 13, with further casting still to be announced.
The creative team includes scenic and costume designer Tom Pye, lighting designer Natasha Chivers and fight director Philip d’Orleans. Tim Phillips is composing the music.
Why Making The Movie Critic Lost Its Appeal
In an August 2025 appearance on The Church of Tarantino podcast, the filmmaker explained that the abandoned project had started as an eight-episode television series before becoming a feature screenplay.
The writing challenge was to make a compelling story about someone who reviews movies. By preproduction, however, his enthusiasm for filming it had faded, according to Variety.
Recreating an earlier Los Angeles would have required skills he had already developed on his previous movie. He felt there was less for him to discover technically, even though he remained fond of the script.
He Screens Prints From His Own Collection at the New Beverly
Tarantino also discussed owning Los Angeles’ New Beverly Cinema and Vista Theatre during the interview.
At the New Beverly, he serves as owner and head programmer, with screenings presented on physical film. Many of the prints come from his private collection, alongside loans from studios and other collectors.
He acquired the Vista in 2021. After renovations, the cinema welcomed audiences back in November 2023 with screenings of True Romance, which Tarantino wrote, before resuming its regular program, LAist reported.
David Fincher Is Bringing Cliff Booth Back This November
Tarantino wrote the screenplay for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, which David Fincher directed, with Brad Pitt returning as the former stuntman.
Netflix places the story in 1977, when Booth supplements work as a bartender and projectionist by fixing problems for Hollywood clients. Elizabeth Debicki plays talent agent Karen Crosby, whose call draws him into the world of television star Charlie Peters, played by Scott Caan.
The cast also includes Carla Gugino as Peters’ wife, Toni, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a football champion turned actor.
Tarantino told The Church of Tarantino that he welcomed the chance to see Fincher interpret his writing. Brad Pitt helped bring the collaboration together, according to Entertainment Weekly.
His second novel, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, arrives December 8. HarperCollins says the book expands and alters the film’s story, following his 2021 novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the 2022 nonfiction book Cinema Speculation.
The film begins an exclusive two-week global IMAX run on November 25, followed by its Netflix release on December 23.