Quentin Tarantino’s Next Movie Can Complete His Hidden Character Trilogy That Began 17 Years Ago

Quentin Tarantino is preparing his 10th and final movie, titled The Movie Critic, and thanks to its themes, it can complete a hidden character trilogy he started almost two decades ago. After years of teasing that he would retire after his 10th movie, the time has come for Tarantino to make his 10th film (as he counts both Kill Bill movies as one), titled The Movie Critic, also written by him. The Movie Critic is following a recent Tarantino trend by blending reality and fiction, as he did with Inglourious Basterds and, more recently, with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Little is known about The Movie Critic, except that the main character writes for a fictional porno magazine and is based on a real-life person Tarantino met many years ago. At the time of writing, only one actor has been officially cast in The Movie Critic (Brad Pitt, marking his third collaboration with Tarantino), with rumors about Tom Cruise potentially joining. Given the meta themes in The Movie Critic, it could give closure to a hidden character trilogy that Tarantino started building 17 years ago with Death Proof and continued in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The Movie Critic Featuring A Hollywood Stuntman Character Would Create A Perfect Trilogy After Death Proof & OUATIH

Tarantino isn’t a filmmaker who makes sequels (as mentioned above, both Kill Bill movies are considered by him as one), and though all his movies are part of the same universe, Tarantino hasn’t built trilogies or franchises – at least not officially. Tarantino’s meta Hollywood movies have subtly built a character trilogy within his filmography and with different characters and tones, as they have all had stuntman characters in big roles. This began in 2007 with Death Proof, Tarantino’s movie in his and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse project.

Death Proof followed a man simply known as Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), who murders young women with his modified car he claims is death-proof… but that only applies to the driver. Death Proof also starred Zoë Bell, who played herself and, as such, was also a stuntwoman, though one with very different intentions from those of Stuntman Mike. Tarantino continued this secret character trilogy in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth. Booth was Rick Dalton’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) stunt double, and their careers were in decline at the end of the 1960s.

With The Movie Critic also being around Hollywood, it could have a stuntman/stuntwoman character that could bring Tarantino’s hidden “stuntman” trilogy to an end. Even better yet, the previous stunt characters in Tarantino’s filmography have had different roles: Stuntman Mike was a villain, Cliff Booth was an anti-hero, and though Zoë Bell in Death Proof was what could be called a “Final Girl”, she doesn’t exactly count as a hero. The Movie Critic, then, could have a stuntman/stuntwoman who is a more typical hero figure.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Already Had A Great Full Circle Moment For Tarantino’s Stuntwork Appreciation

Even if The Movie Critic doesn’t have a stuntman/stuntwoman character to bring Tarantino’s hidden character trilogy to an end, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood already had a full-circle moment with these characters. Kurt Russell had a brief appearance as stunt coordinator Randy Miller and Zoë Bell played his wife, Janet Miller, and they shared one scene with Pitt as Booth. To make this even more special, Zoë Bell was the stunt double for Uma Thurman in both Kill Bill movies.

If The Movie Critic had its own stuntman/stuntwoman character, it could have a moment like this as Brad Pitt is part of the cast, and it doesn’t matter who he plays. There are many interesting opportunities that The Movie Critic can seize as Quentin Tarantino’s final movie, and this is one of the most exciting ones.