Quentin Tarantino’s $449M Hit Gets Sequel After 14 Years: Western Crime Thriller Continues!

A new sequel is on the horizon for a Quentin Tarantino classic.

Quentin Tarantino, known for iconic films such as Pulp Fiction (1994), Kill Bill (2003-2004), and Inglourious Basterds (2009), ventured into the Western genre with Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015). Adding to his repertoire, a sequel for his 2019 movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood titled The Adventures of Cliff Booth is set for release soon on Netflix, with David Fincher directing and Tarantino penning the script.

As reported by Deadline, Sony is now working on a Django/Zorro film, inspired by the collaborative comic book series authored by Quentin Tarantino and Matt Wagner. The adaptation, set to be penned by Academy Award winner Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential), will proceed without Tarantino’s direction, although he has endorsed the project’s development at Sony.

First published in 2014 by Dynamite Entertainment, the seven-part comic series picks up as a follow-up to Django Unchained, continuing the journey of Django, the former slave turned bounty hunter portrayed by Jamie Foxx. The story in the comic takes place in the Antebellum South and the Old West, following Django as he becomes a disciple of Dr. King Schultz, a German bounty hunter played by Christoph Waltz, to save his wife from the cruel plantation owner Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, in Mississippi. The film is a stylized tribute to the spaghetti Westerns, particularly drawing inspiration from Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 Italian movie, Django.

Django Unchained was a box office success, grossing $449 million globally, making it Tarantino’s most profitable film and the top-grossing Western of all time. It earned Tarantino his second Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, following Pulp Fiction, and Christoph Waltz won his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, his first being for Inglourious Basterds. The film also received a Best Picture nomination.

The upcoming Django/Zorro movie is still in the early stages of production, with Helgeland crafting a new script that expands on the comic’s narrative. In the story, Django maintains his role as a bounty hunter and allies with Don Diego de la Vega, previously portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro, eventually passing the mantle to Alejandro Murrieta, played by Antonio Banderas. While initial discussions about a film adaptation began around the comic’s release in 2014, the project stalled during the pandemic but has recently regained momentum.

As Tarantino approaches his tenth and final film as a director, he is simultaneously engaged in various other endeavors. His debut play, The Popinjay Cavalier, is scheduled to premiere in London’s West End early next year. Meanwhile, Brad Pitt is set to reprise his role from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in The Adventures of Cliff Booth.

While Tarantino initially wrote the screenplay for his own directorial vision, he eventually decided to step back, allowing Pitt to reunite with David Fincher, who directed him in Seven (1995), Fight Club (1999), and Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) for this Netflix venture. It remains uncertain whether Jamie Foxx will return as Django in the Django/Zorro movie penned by Helgeland, nor is it clear who will direct, though Helgeland could potentially take on that role, considering his directorial experience.