The Adventures of Cliff Booth is an upcoming David Fincher film written by Quentin Tarantino that brings Brad Pitt back as Cliff Booth from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The project began life during Tarantino’s development of The Movie Critic, but evolved into a David Fincher film after Tarantino abandoned what was intended to be his tenth and final directing effort. Below, we have put together a list of Everything We Know About The Adventures of Cliff Booth!
Of course, to gather all the information on this project, we have to go back to the days when Tarantino was talking about making The Movie Critic as his final film. He was working on the script throughout 2023, and revealed that the story would be set in 1977 California. Speaking with Baz Bamigboye of Deadline, he said the story was “based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.”
Tarantino became aware of these reviews when he was a teenager and had a job that involved loading porn magazines into a vending machine. “All the other stuff was too skanky to read but then there was this porno rag that had a really interesting movie page. He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic. 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 [Robert DeNiro’s character in Taxi Driver] might be if he were a film critic. Think about Travis’s diary entries. But the porno rag critic was very, very funny. He was very rude, you know. He cursed. He used racial slurs. But his shit was really funny. He was as rude as hell. He wrote like he was 55 but he was only in his early to mid-30s. He died in his late thirties. It wasn’t clear for a while but now I’ve done some more research and I think it was it was complications due to alcoholism.”
In the film, the “porno rag” the character writes for would be called The Popstar Pages. Tarantino was looking to cast an actor who was around 35 years old as the movie critic (who may have been named Jim Sheldon), and there were rumors that Paul Walter Hauser and comedian Shane Gillis were in the running.
We never heard details on any other characters, but David Krumholtz and Olivia Wilde were apparently up for roles, and Wilde did meet with Tarantino in person to discuss the project. There were rumors that Tom Cruise, who had been in the conversation for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, might show up for a small role or cameo, but Cruise and Tarantino never met about it. It was also said there would be a role in the film for Pulp Fiction star John Travolta.
In February of 2024, it was announced that Brad Pitt had signed on to be in the new Tarantino movie. It was rumored that he would not only be reprising the role of Cliff Booth from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but that Cliff might also be the titular movie critic. Presumably a change that had come about in rewrites – and if you’ve read the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novelization, it’s not difficult to imagine that Cliff might someday start writing down his thoughts on movies. The idea that the new movie would have a strong tie to Tarantino’s previous movie wasn’t too surprising, given something he said in 2019: “If you think about the idea of all the movies telling one story, and each film is like a train boxcar, connected to each other, this one (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) would sort of be the big show-stopping climax of it all. And I could imagine that the 10th one would be a little more epilogue-y.”
In August of 2025, Tarantino cleared things up. Even though he had been talking about The Movie Critic for months before the Brad Pitt casting announcement, there weren’t going to be any crossover characters in that “spiritual sequel” to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The Cliff Booth project he was talking to Pitt about was something separate. As he lost enthusiasm for The Movie Critic, he still wanted to explore something in the world of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, so he started writing something for Cliff on the side.
The Movie Critic got far enough along that it even secured $20,213,000 in California tax credits. Tarantino said, “I love shooting in California. I started directing movies here and it is only fitting that I shoot my final motion picture in the cinema capital of the world. There is nothing like shooting in my hometown; the crews are the best I’ve ever worked with, and the locations are amazing. The producers and I are thrilled to be making #10 in Los Angeles.”
Not long after that, Tarantino decided to walk away from the project. Word was that he had “simply changed his mind” about making it and “had grown more excited by other ideas.” And since he’s locked into the idea of making ten movies, he couldn’t make this one and then move on to an eleventh. Tarantino said, “I knew I had done it, but I didn’t really want to do it that much… I wasn’t excited about dramatizing what I wrote. The thing about The Movie Critic is I really, really like it, but there was a challenge I gave myself when I did it, both as a series and as a movie: can I take the most boring profession in the world and make it an interesting movie. Who wants to see a movie about a f***ing movie critic?“
After The Movie Critic shut down, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Tarantino had been considering using the project as a way to bid goodbye to his previous movies, which would have existed in the same era as The Movie Critic. “That way, Tarantino could bring back some of the stars of his earlier work to reprise their iconic characters in ‘movie within a movie’ moments, or to play fictional versions of themselves as the actors who played those characters.” Another idea included some of the characters interacting with a 16-year-old Tarantino, who once worked as an usher at an adult theater.
Tarantino scrapped The Movie Critic in April of 2024, and somewhere along the way he also lost interest in the Cliff Booth story idea. He told The Church of Tarantino podcast, “I love this script, but I’m still walking down the same ground I’ve already walked. It just kind of unenthused me. This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory.” So he set it aside.
But in March of 2025, WorldofReel reported that Brad Pitt and his Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button director David Fincher were looking to reunite on a new Netflix movie which could be the director’s next project. And on April 1st, it was revealed that Brad Pitt would reprise the role of Cliff Booth for a sequel to / derivative from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with David Fincher on board to direct. Not only that, but Jeff Sneider added that Leonardo Dicaprio was also in talks to appear as Cliff Booth’s actor buddy Rick Dalton. Pitt was said to have been very interested in Cliff Booth’s part in the script Tarantino had been working on, so he asked Tarantino if he would let someone else take the helm of the project. Tarantino responded that it would depend on who he had in mind. Enter David Fincher, earning Tarantino’s blessing.
By the time the world knew about it, the project was already set up at the Netflix streaming service, which Fincher has a strong working relationship with, and was scheduled to start shooting in California in July on a budget of $200 million.
It was Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. who mentioned the title might be The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Aside from the fact that the story takes place in 1970s California, we don’t know much about what’s supposed to happen in The Adventures of Cliff Booth. The setting means we’re catching up with Cliff eight years after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, by which time he has reportedly retired from stunt work and is now embarking on a new career as a Hollywood fixer.
Leonardo DiCaprio has confirmed that he doesn’t make an appearance as Rick Dalton in the film. But don’t worry, 1977 wasn’t the end of the line for Cliff and Rick. Tarantino has already established a continuity where Booth died in the ’90s, while Rick passed away just recently. He has said on his podcast that in the ’80s, Dalton made a series of action movies for Cannon Pictures called The Fireman, and that Booth directed the sequels for his friend. But that may be a story for another sequel.
Supposedly the story calls for two key female roles: one who runs a bar and mud wrestling establishment, and the other who is a trophy wife. Another character is said to be modelled after Jim Brown, the iconic football player who retired early to pursue an acting career, appearing in movies such as The Dirty Dozen.
So far, we know that Brad Pitt is joined in the cast by Elizabeth Debicki (MaXXXine), Scott Caan (Ocean’s 11), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Candyman), and Carla Gugino (Gerald’s Game). Details on the characters have not been revealed, but we know that Abdul-Mateen is playing the Jim Brown-esque character.
The Adventures of Cliff Booth started filming on July 28, 2025 and wrapped by mid-January. Spy pics from the set showed Pitt as Cliff Booth on the first day of filming:
Big Kahuna Burger is also present in the film:
Fittingly, that first day of filming took place at the New Beverly Cinema, a theatre owned by Tarantino. Tarantino also revealed on the Church of Tarantino podcast that it would be the most expensive film he was ever been involved with by about $100 million. Netflix, not having to worry about box office, gave it a lavish budget in the $200 million range.
A teaser trailer for the film was unveiled during the Super Bowl:
The Adventures of Cliff Booth is scheduled to be released exclusively in IMAX on November 25, 2026, before its streaming debut by Netflix on December 23, 2026.
And that’s everything we know about The Adventures of Cliff Booth… for now.
With filming complete, the next major milestone will be the release of a full trailer, followed by the film’s exclusive IMAX debut on November 25, 2026, before it arrives on Netflix on December 23. We’ll continue updating this guide as new casting information, footage, and story details are revealed.
The Adventures of Cliff Booth is an upcoming film directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino. The movie follows Cliff Booth, the stuntman portrayed by Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as he embarks on a new chapter of his life in 1977 California.
No. Although Quentin Tarantino wrote the screenplay, he is not directing the film. David Fincher is directing the project after Tarantino decided not to move forward with the story himself.
Yes. The film continues the story of Cliff Booth after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Rather than focusing on Rick Dalton and Cliff’s partnership, the new story reportedly follows Cliff as he begins working as a Hollywood fixer.
According to Tarantino, he felt he was covering familiar creative territory and wanted his final directorial film to explore something completely new. Rather than shelve the screenplay entirely, he agreed to let David Fincher direct it after Brad Pitt expressed interest in making the project.
No. The Movie Critic and The Adventures of Cliff Booth are separate projects. While both were developed around the same time, Tarantino has confirmed that The Movie Critic did not feature Cliff Booth and was ultimately abandoned before production.
Tarantino said he simply lost enthusiasm for directing the project. Although he liked the screenplay, he wasn’t excited about bringing it to the screen and decided to move on to other ideas instead.
Brad Pitt returns as Cliff Booth. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Carla Gugino. Abdul-Mateen is reportedly playing a character inspired by football legend and actor Jim Brown.
No. Although early reports suggested Leonardo DiCaprio might reprise his role as Rick Dalton, he has confirmed that he does not appear in the film.
While plot details remain largely under wraps, reports indicate that Cliff Booth has retired from stunt work and is now working as a Hollywood fixer in 1977 Los Angeles.
The story is set in 1977, approximately eight years after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Principal photography began on July 28, 2025, in California and wrapped in mid-January 2026.
The movie was filmed in California, with the first day of production taking place at Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles.
The film reportedly has a budget of approximately $200 million, making it the most expensive project Quentin Tarantino has ever been involved with.
Yes. Netflix is producing and distributing the film. It will receive an exclusive IMAX theatrical release before becoming available to stream on Netflix.
The film is scheduled for an exclusive IMAX release on November 25, 2026, followed by its Netflix streaming debut on December 23, 2026.
Yes. A teaser trailer debuted during the Super Bowl, giving audiences their first official look at Brad Pitt’s return as Cliff Booth.
Nothing has been officially announced. However, Quentin Tarantino has spoken about additional stories involving Cliff Booth and Rick Dalton, both in interviews and on his podcast, suggesting there is still more of their fictional history that could be explored.