(Left) Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in 2021’s ‘Candyman.’ Photo: Universal Pictures. (Right) Brad Pitt in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Preview:
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is the latest cast member for the ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ follow-up.
- ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’ will star Brad Pitt.
- David Fincher is directing.
The surprising follow-up to Quentin Tarantino’s alt-history drama ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ keeps on moving forward, and now, via Deadline, we know that ‘Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will be part of the cast.
While Tarantino wrote and directed the 2019 original, this will be a collaboration between Brad Pitt –– who played stuntman Cliff Booth –– and director David Fincher.
The other latest development on the movie is that it’ll be titled ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’, which makes sense, since Pitt’s character will be at the core of the new movie.
Related Article: David Fincher to Direct Brad Pitt in ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ Follow-Up
What do we know about the ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ follow-up?
Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ Photo: Sony Pictures.
We know that this riff on ‘Once’s Booth character –– the movie isn’t strictly a sequel, more a spin-off ––is something that Tarantino was noodling with and could potentially have been born from his scrapped script ‘The Movie Critic,’ which supposedly included Pitt.
Now QT has turned it into a new script, and with both Fincher and Pitt aboard, Netflix has put together the deal, which will probably end up being around a $200 million budget (the streamer reportedly paid a cool $20 million for the script) to shoot in California this July. We’re talking real fast track here.
But what of Sony, which released ‘Once?’ A couple of things… it has a deal to send much of its output to Netflix and ‘Once’ was a special case anyway; Tarantino’s deal for the original included him hanging on to certain rights. Presumably, he could take Cliff where he wanted.
Handing it to Fincher is no bad compromise if we’re not to get another slice of that character from his creator alone.
There’s more! Reporter Jeff Sneider is adding to the story, bringing word that Leonardo DiCaprio is in the middle of hashing out a deal to also appear in the movie. It’s not yet closed and he may not even end up in the movie, but surely the appeal of A) another Tarantino script, B) working with Fincher and reuniting with Pitt is strong.
Deadline’s report mentions that Mateen, while not confirmed, is playing a character in the vein of Jim Brown, who famously ended his Hall of Fame football career early to focus on acting starring in such hits as ‘The Dirty Dozen.’
He joins Scott Caan and Elizabeth Debicki, who were also recently added to the cast list.
What was the story of ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’?
(L to R) Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’
Tarantino’s original movie is set during the summer of 1969, as Hollywood’s Golden Age is winding down.
Television actor Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his stunt double Booth endeavor to achieve lasting success in Hollywood while meeting several colorful characters along the way.
Not the least is Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who in this alternate version of history ends up saved from death by the members of the Manson family.
The cast also included the likes of Emile Hirsch, Austin Butler, Julia Butters, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino, Lena Dunham, Maya Hawke, Sydney Sweeney, and Mikey Madison.
As for the follow-up, it certainly shoves everything else on Fincher’s To Do list down a notch or two. Apologies to ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’, you just got pushed deeper down.
Where else have we seen Yahya Abdul-Mateen II?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures/ ™ & © DC Comics.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been building quite the healthy career in the last decade or so, including in ‘Aquaman’ and its sequel, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’,‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’, ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ and ‘Ambulance’.
The actor has a few projects in the works, including Marvel’s ‘Wonder Man’Disney+ series, where he stars in the title role.
He also stars and executive produces the ‘Man on Fire’ series for Netflix and will star opposite Mark Wahlberg in Elegance Bratton’s crime thriller ‘By Any Means’.
When will ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’ be out?
We could potentially see this on screens as early as next year –– an exciting prospect for sure.
But will it be on a big or small screen? While Fincher and Pitt are certainly big names, the director didn’t warrant a theatrical release for his previous movie, ‘The Killer,’ despite his established professional relationship with the streaming service.
Still… a follow-up to a Tarantino movie? Starring Brad Pitt and potentially Leonardo DiCaprio? Surely a candidate for at least a limited theatrical push.
Oscar® nominee, Quentin Tarantino arrives on the red carpet of The 92nd Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 9, 2020. Credit/Provider: Nick Agro / ©A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: ©A.M.P.A.S.
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