Tarantino screens 17 minutes of Cliff Booth sequel

Tarantino screens 17 minutes of Cliff Booth sequel

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Quentin Tarantino surprised an AFI Fest audience at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre by screening the first 17 minutes of The Further Mis-Adventures. David Fincher directs the Brad Pitt sequel, which arrives in IMAX theaters on November 25 before streaming on Netflix on December 23, 2026.

The audience in Los Angeles expected a special screening of the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and a standard post-film Q&A session. Instead, Quentin Tarantino gave the packed Chinese Theatre an unannounced preview of the forthcoming follow-up script he wrote, handing directing duties to David Fincher.

First 17 Minutes Unveiled at AFI Fest

Security guards moved quickly through the aisles to stop anyone from filming as the lights went down on October 23, 2026. The opening footage places the story in June 1977, eight years after the events of the first film, introducing a darker, rougher chapter for Brad Pitt’s character according to reporting from TheWrap.

Quentin Tarantino Q&A AFI Fest: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

No longer working primarily as a stuntman, Cliff Booth is employed as a projectionist at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. The screening revealed his side hustle as a Hollywood fixer, handling blackmail, extortion, and crime in the back alleys of the city.

Fincher Cuts 60 Pages from 230-Page Script

The project arrived at Fincher’s desk as an exceptionally long manuscript. David Fincher revealed in a joint interview with Empire that the first draft I read was 230 pages. It was essentially two movies. Fincher cut roughly 60 pages from the screenplay, bringing the final theatrical and streaming cut to approximately 140 minutes.

tarantino david fincher afi premiere cliff booth (1)
Photo: What's on Netflix

Somewhere in there was the Venn diagram of what Brad wanted to do, what I want to do, what Quentin wanted to do. Not ‘want to do,’ but the areas we would focus on.

Tarantino acknowledged the scale of his writing, having previously noted on a podcast that his draft resembled a gigantic novel written in screenplay form.

I don’t think of it as a hangout movie at all. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was a hangout movie, but you know you’re going to Cielo Drive. It has this force, thus I didn’t need a lot of plot. This script was very different… To me, it had the flavour of an Elmore Leonard paperback: a crime-story paperback feel.

Tarantino Chooses Fincher for Sequel

Tarantino decided against directing the sequel himself because he did not want a follow-up film to serve as his tenth and final motion picture, preferring to enter uncharted creative territory. He entrusted the script to Fincher as a gesture of mutual respect between filmmakers.

I think me and David Fincher are the two best directors. So the idea that David Fincher actually wants to adapt my work, to me, shows a level of seriousness towards my work that I think needs to be taken into account.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 23: Quentin Tarantino speaks onstage during AFI FEST 2026 Presented By Canva "Once Upon A
Photo: Gold Derby

Fincher shaped the narrative around how characters collide in 1970s Hollywood rather than relying strictly on linear plot mechanics. Fincher explained that he liked the idea of a story around a bonfire, focusing on the back alleys and intersecting lives of fixers, gangsters, and agents.

Cast and Release Schedule Revealed

Alongside Brad Pitt returning in the title role, the ensemble features Elizabeth Debicki as talent agent Karen Crosby, Scott Caan as TV star Charlie Peters, Carla Gugino as Toni Peters, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as screen star Roderick Hot Rod Harrison, and Matt Groove and JB Tadena as the Verdusco brothers.

  • November 25, 2026: The film begins an exclusive two-week global IMAX theatrical run.
  • December 8, 2026: Harper publishes Tarantino’s companion novel, The Adventures of Cliff Booth, set in the same 1977 period.
  • December 23, 2026: The film makes its streaming debut worldwide on Netflix.

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