The director says his final movie is written, but a West End play with Sacha Baron Cohen and some time with his family come first.
Quentin Tarantino‘s 10th and final film exists, at least on paper. Appearing on The Graham Norton Show for the first time in more than a decade, the director confirmed he has finished a script he really likes. He just is not ready to make it. Before he decides anything, he wants to stage a play in London, spend time with his family and, in his words, “live a little.”
Where the 10th Film Stands
Tarantino has said for years that he will retire after 10 features, and with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood counted as his ninth, every project he touches gets measured against that finish line. This is not the first time a 10th film seemed close. He spent much of 2023 preparing The Movie Critic, a 1970s-set drama about a film critic, before abandoning it in 2024. That history makes his caution easy to understand: the last movie has to be the right one.
Tarantino did not say what the new script is about, and no studio, cast or timeline has been announced.
The Play Comes First
The immediate priority is The Popinjay Cavalier, a swashbuckling comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen that opens at London’s Phoenix Theatre in March after previews in late February. Tarantino told Norton the project started life as a screenplay before he realized it worked better on stage. The run is scheduled to close June 13, which means the earliest he could realistically turn to the 10th film is the second half of 2027.
It is not the first time Tarantino has stepped away from directing without slowing down. Since 2019, he has published a novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and a book of film criticism, Cinema Speculation, and he wrote the script for David Fincher’s The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, which brings back Brad Pitt’s Oscar-winning character for Netflix.
Seven Years and Counting
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood remains his most recent film as director. Released in 2019, it earned 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture, director and actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, and won two: best supporting actor for Pitt and best production design for Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh. Pitt is now back in the awards conversation for playing Cliff Booth again, as we noted in our best actor race breakdown.
By the time the 10th film arrives, it will likely have been close to a decade since Tarantino last called action. For the most protective filmmaker in Hollywood, that may be exactly the point. He has one shot left, and he is taking his time.
