Throughout his 30-plus year film career, famed director Quentin Tarantino has earned a reputation as a modern and visionary filmmaker, with a near-perfect catalog of movies. He has written and directed some of the greatest movies in cinematic history, including the cult classic Pulp Fiction and the revisionist war flick Inglourious Basterds. Furthermore, Tarantino has been lauded with accolades and awards celebrating his work over the years, winning multiple Academy Awards, multiple Golden Globes, and a Palme D’Or, to name a few.
Beyond that, his love of filmmaking, appreciation of pop culture, and uncanny ability to revive and refresh underappreciated genres earned Tarantino perhaps one of the most loyal fanbases of all time and made nerding out on movies cool again. Though the celebrated director has long stated his goal to only make ten great films throughout his career, fans are hoping he will stick around a bit longer. With nine films under his belt so far (counting both parts of Kill Bill as one), fans are speculating if his next film will be his last. Here is what the iconic filmmaker has to say about why he wants to retire.
His Final Project
With Tarantino recently announcing his retirement to Bill Maher, fans have since been speculating on what his next project will be and how soon we can expect it. Many have suggested his final work will be a conclusion of the Kill Bill franchise, Kill Bill: Vol. 3, although it is probably more wishful thinking than anything else as it is a loophole to his 10 films rule.
Tarantino himself has addressed his final work to various media outlets. According to The Ronin, in a June 2021 interview with Bill Maher, Tarantino told the audience he had considered re-making his 1992 feature film debut Reservoir Dogs. However, he debunked it as quickly as he threw it out, joking, "I won’t do it, internet! But I considered it."
Tarantino also once confessed to film critic Elvis Mitchell that he had considered adapting Elmore Leonard's 1983 novel Stick. The famed auteur had previously adapted Leonard's novel Rum Punch, which would be released as Jackie Brown. While tempted to pursue the project, Tarantino insisted that his final film would be original. He has also previously expressed his desire to do a horror film if he can come up with a great story to back it up. As for the timing of his final masterpiece, well, that's anyone's guess as Tarantino has stated he is in no rush.
Feeling Out of Touch
In the aforementioned interview, Maher praised the celebrated director, stating, "You’re too young to quit and you’re at the top of your game," to which Tarantino responded coyly, "That’s why I want to quit because I know film history and from here on end, directors do not get better." He later added, "At the same time, working for 30 years doing as many movies as I’ve done is not as many as other people, but that’s a long career. That’s a really long career. And I’ve given it everything I have," (via Variety). He also suggested to Maher that he feels filmmakers should try to leave on a high note, using Dirty Harry director Don Siegel to drive his point home: "If he had quit his career in 1979, when he did Escape from Alcatraz, what a final film!”
More recently, Tarantino discussed his retirement with CNN, telling Chris Wallace, "Well, it's... I've been doing it for a long time. I've been doing it for 30 years, and it's, it's time to wrap up the show. Like I said I'm an entertainer. I want to leave you wanting more you know, and not just work and I don't want to work to diminishing returns. I don't want to be... one, I don't want to become this old man who's out of touch when already I'm feeling a bit like an old man out of touch when it comes to the current movies that are out right now. And that's what happens."
The End is only the Beginning
While fans may be preemptively mourning the loss of one of the most inventive minds in cinematic history, the end of Tarantino's film career is not necessarily the end of all things Tarantino. The fact that he will no longer be making movies will free him up to do other projects he has expressed interest in over the years. The stylish director has recently released a non-fiction book titled Cinema Speculation, which blends a mix of film criticism interwoven with his own life story, all the while written unmistakably in his signature voice.
Tarantino is also credited as a driving force behind the new Justified revival series, Justified: City Primeval. According to AV Club, while Justified star Timothy Olyphant was filming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the pair were discussing Elmore Leonard's book City Primeval, and thought it would make a great continuation of the series. The celebrated director was even rumored to have signed on to direct a few episodes at one time, although it did not pan out in the end. Whatever he shifts his focus to, we are sure it will be a hit.