Speculation about Quentin Tarantino’s next and possibly final movie continues, and his next project needs to be a western in order to fit the plan he has for his legacy as a filmmaker. Quentin Tarantino has become one of the most popular and respected filmmakers but also a very controversial one due to the amount of blood and violence in his movies. Quentin Tarantino’s movies also stand out for their peculiar narrative and visual style, and it all started in 1992 with the crime movie Reservoir Dogs.
Although Reservoir Dogs was a critical success, Tarantino’s big break arrived two years later with Pulp Fiction, another crime movie but told in a nonlinear style. Tarantino has since explored different genres in his movies – from martial arts with both Kill Bill movies to slasher with Grindhouse’s Death Proof and even alternate versions of historical events, as he did in Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. So far, Tarantino has made nine movies (as he counts both Kill Bill movies as one) and he has famously shared that he will retire after making 10 movies, so there’s a lot of speculation and anticipation around his next project.
There have been various rumors about what Tarantino’s final movie will be – an original work, an adaptation, or a sequel like the long-awaited Kill Bill 3 – but the best option would be for it to be a western, as that would fit with what Tarantino has said about his retirement and being considered as a western director.
Will Tarantino's Next Movie Be A Western (& Will It Be His Last Film)?
Speaking to Shortlist in 2015 while promoting The Hateful Eight, Tarantino explained that he liked the idea that when he’s “done with everything”, he will be considered a western director as he had his western period, but added that, in order to be considered a western director, he felt he needs to make three westerns. Tarantino explained that “wannabe westerns” like Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and Inglourious Basterds (which he tried to shoot as a spaghetti western) don’t count, so for one of his movies to really be considered a western, it would have to have horses and limited to no electricity. With all that in mind, Tarantino has only made two westerns so far – Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight –, so in order to fulfill that plan of being considered a western director, his final movie must be a western (which means no Kill Bill 3).
However, it’s hard to know if another western would really be Tarantino’s final movie. Tarantino can change the way he counts his movies and choose to count Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and his new western as one package, thus making way for more movies. There are many options for Quentin Tarantino’s final movie, including the possibility of him taking one of his many unmade projects and finally bringing it to the big screen, but if he still wants to be considered as a western director under those terms he mentioned, he should go back to the western genre.