A key figure in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Cliff Booth, is set to get his own spinoff film, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, directed by David Fincher. During the novelization of the 2019 Hollywood-set drama, the Pulp Fiction director, Quentin Tarantino, crafted an elaborate backstory for Brad Pitt’s character. As a result, there has been considerable speculation among fans about whether Booth’s intriguing past will be explored in the upcoming spin-off film, though recent developments suggest that may not be the case.
Cliff Booth’s past might remain mostly unexplored in upcoming film
As per the recent updates regarding the film, David Fincher’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth will deal with happenings after the 1969 version of events depicted in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It is essentially a sequel rather than a prequel, which means the possibility of delving into the character’s dark past remains minimal. Flashback sequences could still be expected, but nothing has been confirmed so far.
The film is reportedly set in the early 1970s and will likely align with Quentin Tarantino’s characterization of Booth as a Hollywood fixer navigating the industry’s underbelly. Although the story may examine Booth’s darker side, it is unlikely to explore his past in detail. One possible reason is Tarantino’s earlier suggestion that he might write a prequel about Cliff Booth’s escape from a Japanese POW camp in the Philippines during the Pacific War.
Notably, while writing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino described Cliff Booth as a World War II veteran, stuntman, and Hollywood fixer with a mysterious past. “Someday I’ll do his adventure in the POW camp,” he once said, leaving little room for Fincher’s film to showcase Booth’s wartime past.
Nevertheless, Brad Pitt will return to play the Hollywood stuntman. The script is written by Tarantino, and Fincher will direct the project. With a reportedly $200 million budget, the film’s cast includes Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Netflix has acquired the rights to the film, which is expected to be released on the streaming platform and in select theaters, though an official release date has not yet been confirmed.
