Quentin Tarantino's final movie: Everything to know about the director's swan song

Quentin Tarantino is calling cut on his movie career. The acclaimed filmmaker has said he plans to retire from directing films after one last project, and it sounds like it will be all about one of his favorite subjects: movies from the 1970s. While the film won't be a biopic, a real person inspired Tarantino to make it  — at least, so he says.

What will Tarantino's final movie be?

Quentin Tarantino's alleged final film will be "The Movie Critic," which is set "in late 1970s Los Angeles with a female lead at its center," The Hollywood Reporter revealed. The "Pulp Fiction" director has reportedly written the script and is preparing to direct it this fall, suggesting a potential 2024 release. "The Movie Critic" is a working title and not final, Variety said, adding that Tarantino is shopping the script to potential buyers and seeking a deal that would include a "robust theatrical release."

It appears "The Movie Critic" could see the director pay tribute to some of his favorite films. Indeed, "Rolling Thunder" writer Paul Schrader told IndieWire that Tarantino was working on a project where he was "going to use clips from movies from the '70s, but he's also gonna remake movies from the '70s," so he asked permission to "redo the ending of 'Rolling Thunder.'"

The premise of "The Movie Critic" initially sparked speculation that the film could be about the late Pauline Kael, a writer for which Tarantino has expressed admiration. He has since confirmed, however, that Kael is not the subject.

So who is 'The Movie Critic' about?

"The Movie Critic," which is set in California in 1977, is "based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag," Tarantino told Deadline. The director said he had a job as a teenager that involved loading porn magazines into a vending machine, and while "all the other stuff was too skanky to read," there was "this porno rag that had a really interesting movie page."

"He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic," Tarantino explained of the elusive writer. "I think he was a very good critic. He was as cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern and what Travis Bickle might be if he were a film critic."

Tarantino didn't mention the name of the critic or magazine, though he referenced his admiration for a "critic from the 70s named Jim Sheldon, who used to write for this porno rag" in a 2022 interview on the "ReelBlend" podcast. Tarantino has also cited and quoted reviews from Jim Sheldon, whom he described as a critic for the Hollywood Press, on his "Video Archives Podcast."

But because Tarantino has reportedly written for his New Beverly Cinema website using Jim Sheldon as a pseudonym, some have speculated this to be a fictional character inspired by the real person William Margold. In his book "Cinema Speculation," Tarantino described Margold as the "first-string film critic for the sex rag the 'Hollywood Press.'" But Margold died in 2017, whereas Tarantino told Deadline that his movie is based on a critic that "died in his late thirties" due to alcoholism. A post on the "Video Archives Podcast" website stressed that Margold is a "real person" and described Sheldon as an "enigmatic" personality.

Who might star in 'The Movie Critic'?

Tarantino told Deadline he plans to cast "somebody in the 35-year-old ball park" to play the lead role in "The Movie Critic," adding, "It'll definitely be a new leading man for me." He also teased that he has "an idea of somebody I can imagine doing it really well," though he noted he hasn't decided whether to cast this person. Tarantino also said he won't cast a British actor in the role.

What else has Tarantino said about his last movie?

Though no details about "The Movie Critic" were known prior to March 2023, Tarantino previously gave a few hints about what we can expect from his final project. He has said, for instance, that his 10th film will likely feel like an epilogue to his career, whereas his ninth movie, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," was more of an epic.

Tarantino also said last year that he didn't expect his final movie to involve rewriting history as he did in "Inglourious Basterds," "Django Unchained," and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." He told the "ReelBlend" podcast that he plans for his 10th movie to be promoted as his final film, with "the last film by Quentin Tarantino" likely appearing in the trailer and the opening credits.

Why is Tarantino retiring?

For over a decade, Tarantino has repeatedly said he plans to retire after 10 films because he wants to go out on top and ensure his movies don't decline in quality as he gets older.

"I just don't want to be an old-man filmmaker," he told Playboy in 2012. "I want to stop at a certain point. Directors don't get better as they get older. Usually the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end. I am all about my filmography, and one bad film f--ks up three good ones."

Tarantino has never wavered on this plan and even doubled down during two press tours in 2021 and 2022.

"I'm an entertainer," he told CNN's Chris Wallace in 2022. "I want to leave you wanting more, and I don't want to work to diminishing returns. I don't want to become this old man who's out of touch, and already I'm feeling a bit like an old man out of touch when it comes to the current movies that are out right now. And that's what happens."

Technically, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" was already Tarantino's 10th film. But he considers "Kill Bill: Volume 1" and "Kill Bill: Volume 2" to be a single movie, leaving room for one more.

What will Tarantino do next?

Assuming the director sticks with his retirement plan, don't expect him to totally disappear from the spotlight.

He could spend the rest of his career writing books and plays, for instance. Tarantino already released his debut novel in 2021, a novelization of his film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which he followed up with a film criticism book, "Cinema Speculation," in 2022. "I kind of feel this is the time for the third act [of my life] to just lean a little bit more into the literary," he told Peter Travers in 2020.

On "The Big Picture" podcast in 2021, Tarantino noted he plans to continue writing novels "quite a bit," potentially including a novelization of his movie "Reservoir Dogs." He added that he has already written two chapters of an original Western novel, which is "kind of pulpy," and hopes to eventually write a novelization "of a movie that's not mine." Tarantino also told "The Big Picture" he has "written a play version" of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which he plans to bring to the stage, and five episodes of "Bounty Law," the fictional Rick Dalton TV show from within the world of his 2019 film. And on "The Joe Rogan Experience," he said he hopes to bring "The Hateful Eight" and "Reservoir Dogs" to the stage.

Beyond this, Tarantino has noted he could still direct television without breaking his 10-movie commitment. In fact, he revealed on "2 Bears 1 Cave" in 2022 that he has already written eight episodes of a limited series and plans to direct them all, potentially as soon as this year.

Updated June 1, 2023: This article has been updated throughout.

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