There's a very real possibility that Kurt Russell's character in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Stuntman Mike from Death Proof. In the age of multiverses and shared cinematic universes, it's hardly unprecedented for characters to cross over into other films - something Tarantino's been doing since Reservoir Dogs.
In 2007, Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez released a double feature throwback to grindhouse pictures of the 1970s aptly titled Grindhouse. Rodriguez's no holds-barred zombie film Planet Terror opens up the twofer, and after a series of fake movie trailers from directors like Rob Zombie and Edgar Wright, Tarantino's Death Proof is the second and final film. It centers around a Hollywood stuntman-turned-killer named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) whose weapons of choice are a 1971 Chevy Nova and a 1969 Dodge Charger. Giving new meaning to road rage, Stuntman Mike proves his talent behind the wheel of a car in Death Proof, but his Hollywood connections make it very possible he might have some kind of role to play in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Given Tarantino's shared universe, as well as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood being a love letter to Hollywood during the height Charles Manson's reign of terror, Stuntman Mike's inclusion seems all the more fitting. That said, it'll help to know how and why he'd show up in the first place.
- This Page: Tarantino's Shared Universe & Stuntman Mike
- Page 2: Is Stuntman Mike In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino's Shared Universe
Tarantino's filmography is split into two separate universes: the "Realer than Real Universe" and the "Movie Movie Universe," while Jackie Brown exists within its own universe, having been adapted from Elmore Leonard's novel. Tarantino explained this in an interview with The Project, an Australian talk show, confirming that Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and presumably Once Upon a Time in Hollywood all exist within the "Realer than Real Universe." Even films he wrote, but didn't direct, exist within this universe, including True Romance and Natural Born Killers.
This leaves films like Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 and From Dusk Til Dawn - and one would assume his planned Star Trek film - in the "Movie Movie Universe." They're films-within-films for characters to watch in the "Realer than Real Universe." And to make things a little more complicated, Tarantino has a couple of characters who transcend these universes: Sheriff Earl McGraw (Michael Parks) shows up in both Death Proof and From Dusk Till Dawn.
Apart from fictional brands like Red Apple cigarettes and Big Kahuna Burger showing up throughout his films, Tarantino's "Realer than Real Universe" links a number of characters together. For example, the former partner of Reservoir Dogs' Mr. White/Larry (Keitel) is True Romance's Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette); Pulp Fiction's Vince Vega (John Travolta) and Reservoir Dogs' Mr. Blonde/Vic Vega (Michael Madsen) are brothers; and Inglourious Basterds' Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth) is the father of True Romance's Lee Donowitz (Saul Rubinek). In Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) even discusses a TV show she worked on that more or less describes the Kill Bill films, in which she also starred.
Stuntman Mike Explained
Making his first and only appearance in Death Proof - one half of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's double feature Grindhouse - Stuntman Mike isn't your average serial killer. He's a seasoned Hollywood stuntman (as his name implies) residing in Texas who spends his time hanging out at dive bars, driving, and killing. Death Proof introduces Stuntman Mike alongside his first slew of victims, exuding a kind of oddball charm that ultimately paints him as a generally decent person. He graces a stranger at the bar with his backstory as a stunt driver for films and is clearly smitten by the young women at the bar. However, little do they realize, he's scoping out his next victims.
In the film, he shows the full, gory extent of how he can use his car as a weapon, utilizing it from the inside out, and it's not until the halfway mark of film that he unexpectedly meets his match (in the form of three would-be victims). However, aside from a few anecdotes about his life as a Hollywood stuntman, exposition isn't really something Death Proof bothers exploring. This is meant to be a sleazy grindhouse movie after all.
Page 2 of 2: Is Stuntman Mike In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
How Stuntman Mike Could Fit Into Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
So, how does a serial killing stunt driver in Texas connect to Tarantino's 1969-set love letter to Hollywood? Pretty simply, actually. Given Stuntman Mike's Hollywood roots, it's entirely possible that his character might have once crossed paths with the characters in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and the whole atmosphere and lifestyle is perfectly suited for someone like Mike.
For one, Russell has a role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that hasn't been revealed yet. This leaves the door wide open for a Stuntman Mike cameo, creating more connective threads within Tarantino's shared universe. The two main characters in the film (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt) work in television, with DiCaprio playing an actor named Rick Dalton and Pitt playing his stuntman, Cliff Booth. So, there's certainly room to feature the early career of a much younger Stuntman Mike trying to get his foot in the door. And, given the earlier time period, the character would be roughly 18 years old - the perfect age for an up-and-coming Hollywood talent to start his career. (Also, considering Russell has already undergone the de-aging treatment with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, there's already a precedent for making him look younger with digital effects.)
His appearance wouldn't necessarily have to impact the plot - he could easily be one of the stunt drivers working alongside DiCaprio's character on one of his shoots - but if ever there was a time for Tarantino to cross a character from one of his films into another, a stuntman in a film about stuntmen makes sense. Also, the fact that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood centers around the height of the Manson murders lends itself to Stuntman Mike's more violent tendencies.
Who Else Could Appear in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
As possible as it might be for Stuntman Mike to get something of a backstory in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, it's just as possible that other Tarantino characters show up as well - or, at the very least, new characters who are related to other characters we've met in past films. And, given the Hollywood landscape, there is one other character specifically that would be a solid fit: True Romance's Lee Donowitz.
In the same way the film has potential to reveal the early days of Stuntman Mike's career in the film industry, the same can be said for Donowitz, who was inspired to start his career in filmmaking after his father's film-related assassination of Adolf Hitler in Inglourious Basterds. He'd be around the same age as Stuntman Mike, and though the two wouldn't necessarily have to cross paths, it'd almost be a missed opportunity to leave him out.
Now, were Lee to make an appearance, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood would have a direct link to True Romance, which would then have a direct link to Reservoir Dogs, considering Mr. White's connection with Alabama. That doesn't necessarily mean we'd need to see yet another origin story with yet another older character like Mr. White, but given the real-life crime stories that'll be featured in the film, it's entirely possible that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood features - or least hints at - a few more familiar names from Tarantino's meticulously detailed filmography.
Source: The Project
