Quentin Tarantino had quite a surprise in store for moviegoers on Friday night, treating a packed house at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles to an unexpected preview of his cinematic universe’s next chapter. The acclaimed filmmaker made a special appearance at the annual AFI Fest following a screening of his 2019 hit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, sitting down for an extensive and reflective Q&A about the making and legacy of the film. But just as the evening seemed to be winding down to its scheduled conclusion, Tarantino pulled off a major coup by presenting the very first public footage from the upcoming follow-up project, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.
To the delight of the crowd, the screening unveiled the first 17 minutes of the highly anticipated film, offering audiences an early glimpse into the continuation of the world Tarantino first brought to life nearly half a decade ago. The newly revealed footage immediately established a distinct tone and setting, introducing viewers to Brad Pitt’s character—the unflappable, charismatic stunt double Cliff Booth—in a new professional and personal capacity. In the scenes shown at the TCL Chinese Theater, Booth is seen working as a modest cinema projectionist, a fitting occupation for a man so deeply embedded in the mechanics of the entertainment industry, while also managing some characteristically unsavory and illicit business dealings on the side.
The project itself represents a notable shift in creative collaboration for Tarantino. While he penned the original screenplay for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, the celebrated director stepped aside from the director’s chair this time around, handing over the reins to fellow cinematic auteur David Fincher. The film is set in 1977, placing the narrative eight years after the turbulent and transformative events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It brings back Brad Pitt to reprise the role that earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, allowing the actor to step back into the worn leather jacket and effortless cool of the iconic stuntman.
Before the lights dimmed for the exclusive footage, Tarantino took time to speak directly to the audience about what motivated him to revisit the character and expand upon the fictional world he had built. He reflected on the critical reception of his previous work, noting how specific pieces of writing had lingered in his mind over the years.
"I tend to not remember good reviews of mine in quotes; I kind of remember the bad reviews in quotes, but I don’t really remember good reviews of mine in quotes," Tarantino told the attentive crowd at AFI Fest. "But one quote that I do remember somebody writing about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, it was like, ‘This seems like the first world Quentin Tarantino has ever created that he would like to live in,’ and there is that aspect."
That sense of immersion and affection for the setting proved to be a driving force behind the new script. Tarantino elaborated on his enduring fondness for Pitt’s character, viewing him through a literary lens that ultimately inspired a new narrative direction. "I loved the Cliff Booth character, I loved the way that Brad played him, and there was this aspect of him as sort of like a paperback hero. I could see like a series of paperbacks with Cliff Booth getting involved with this adventure or that adventure or something like that."
That initial spark eventually materialized into a full-fledged script focused on a fresh chapter in the character’s life. "As time went on, I just thought about coming up with a different adventure, getting him in now a misadventure. I wanted to see what would happen with that," Tarantino explained.
The filmmaker’s connection to the universe extends far beyond the original feature film. In the years following its theatrical release, Tarantino has continued to dwell within the mythology he constructed, notably authoring a novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that further fleshed out the background and inner lives of its principal characters. This deep, continuous engagement with the lore has given him an encyclopedic grasp of the fictional reality he established.
"I’ve got nothing to do but just invest in this mythology," Tarantino noted during the discussion. "I invested in it before I did the movie, and then I invested in it in the years since I’ve done the movie, just so I know the mythology. The audience doesn’t need to know everything, but it’s kind of nice that I know everything, and you can trust me that I know it."
Throughout the conversation, Tarantino shared further insights into his personal relationship with his own filmography, revealing a unique perspective on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. When asked about watching his own movies, he confessed that if he were to revisit any of his own directorial efforts, that specific film would be his primary choice, noting that it is a work he can watch repeatedly without losing interest.
"Don’t get me wrong, I love my stories. I really, really love my stories, and I invest in my stories," he said. "Pero I kind of like that this doesn’t really have a story. I like that you’re just hanging out with them."
The conversation also touched upon Tarantino’s evolving professional focus and his current creative mindset. As he prepares to head into rehearsals for an upcoming theatrical play, the writer and director emphasized that his artistic ambitions are shifting more toward the written word. This evolution explains his deliberate decision to take on a purely writing role for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth rather than directing the feature himself.
"As I’m getting older, being a man of letters is more my thing," he observed, pointing to a broader transition in his career toward literary and dramatic forms. "So screenplays and books and plays—everything except poetry."
The surprise preview at AFI Fest has significantly heightened anticipation for the upcoming release, giving fans their first concrete look at how the collaboration between Tarantino and Fincher translates to the screen. The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth is scheduled to arrive in IMAX theaters on November 25, followed by a streaming release on Netflix on December 23.