2022 has Brad Pitt returning to the big screen for several movies, and his most exciting project, Babylon, looks set to recreate many of the qualities that made Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood genius. The Quentin Tarantino film saw Pitt playing Cliff Booth, mysterious stunt double and best-and-only friend to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton. The film is laden with both nostalgia and menace as it takes the viewer through the end of Hollywood’s Golden Age to a wild and contorted portrayal of the notorious 1969 murders by the Manson Family.

The film is ignited by the performances of its cast, with Margot Robbie starring as Sharon Tate, Margaret Qualley as Pussycat, and Dakota Fanning as Squeaky. Pitt’s composed portrayal of Cliff Booth maintains the ominous uncertainty of a rumored, though unverified, crime in his past. Pitt has become a prominent figure in film production, but roles including Jack Trainer in The Lost City and Ladybug in Bullet Train indicate 2022 is a year for Pitt to continue to showcase his qualities in front of the camera.

Related: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: The Real-Life Inspirations Behind Cliff Booth

Pitt was given an Academy Award for his role in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, and his most exciting 2022 movie will see him star alongside Margot Robbie once more in a film with a relatively similar historical basis: Damien Chazelle’s Babylon. Babylon will also capture Hollywood, though it swaps the late-'60s focus of Tarantino’s blockbuster for the 1920s, which saw cinema transition away from silent films and start to incorporate sound in new "talkies." Brad Pitt is playing famed silent actor John Gilbert, and Margot Robbie was cast in the upcoming movie as Clara Bow. It's a film surely set to establish a different perspective of Hollywood from Tarantino’s, despite sharing several aspects with his 2019 film.

Cliff Booth talking to Rick Dalton on the street.

Chazelle has impressed as a writer and director for Whiplash and La La Land, films that, like Babylon, deal with creative industries. Though Chazelle’s filmmaking style is a far cry from Tarantino's, the writers-directors are similar in their tendency to have clear visions for their projects. Like Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Babylon is considered a likely Oscar contender, even before its release.

Babylon might even be Chazelle’s most ambitious project to date. The film will showcase his interest in capturing the artistry and ambition of performers, but this time through historical figures, something he practiced while directing First Man, a biopic of the astronaut Neil Armstrong. Babylon’s historical figures seem likely to illuminate the varying impact of the shift away from silent films, with Robbie’s character Clara Bow one of the more successful sound film performers, and Pitt’s character John Gilbert notably less prosperous through the transition.

The changing customs of the film industry proved problematic to the fictional Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, and it is likely to be a similar affair for Pitt’s Gilbert in Babylon. Chazelle’s film is likely to be different from Tarantino’s in terms of tone and historical accuracy, but the parallels in casting, setting, and themes are nevertheless exciting aspects. Babylon is set for an initial release in late 2022, and it is certainly Brad Pitt’s most exciting 2022 movie.

Next: Babylon News & Updates: Everything We Know