Quentin Tarantino‘s name likely needs no introduction with movie fanatics. Outside of that, his name still most likely rings a bell with the general public thanks to his position as one the few filmmakers who has worked his way into pop culture. His storied career began in 1992 with his debut movie, Reservoir Dogs. Two years later, he won his first Oscar for his magnum opus, Pulp Fiction.
Despite being one of the most renowned filmmakers of all time, Tarantino’s filmography isn’t as extensive as his peer’s. He has also long been on record for stating that he will retire after his tenth movie. This movie will be The Movie Critic. As of yet, Brad Pitt is the only actor who has officially signed on to the project. Paul Walter Hauser is rumoured to be taking the lead role, and Tom Cruise is reportedly eyeing a cameo appearance. So, as heaps of Hollywood A-listers likely line up to star in Quentin Tarantino’s final movie, here are 6 actors we want to see board the project.
6. Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis and Quentin Tarantino worked together on the 1994 classic, Pulp Fiction, with Willis playing a boxer who double-crosses a gangster and is thrust into a twisted odyssey as the criminals come looking for him. When featuring on the 2 Bears 1 Cave podcast, Tarantino explained how Willis was desperate to work with him after loving his first movie, Reservoir Dogs.
Willis’ character was a standout in Pulp Fiction, yet the two cinematic juggernauts never worked together again thereafter. Sadly, Willis is now suffering with frontotemporal dementia and has retired from acting. However, Tarantino has reportedly set aside two small roles in The Movie Critic for two actors he has previously worked with. To that, he has thrown it into the cinematic ethos that he would love Willis’ final movie role to be in The Movie Critic. Granted, with Willis’ condition, this is unlikely to come to fruition, yet, it would certainly be one epic send off the for iconic actor’s career.
5. Sylvester Stallone
By the time Quentin Tarantino shot to fame, Sylvester Stallone was nearly two decades into his career and was a box office titan thanks to his roles in the Rocky franchise, Rambo, and many others. Although Stallone has hailed himself a big fan of Tarantino, he has actually turned down two separate roles in his movies. The first offer came for the 1997 movie, Jackie Brown, where Stallone was the original choice for the character of Louis Gara, which later went to Robert De Niro.
Furthermore, before Kurt Russell was cast in the lead role, Tarantino originally wanted Stallone to play the role of the crazed killer, Stuntman Mike, in 2007’s Death Proof. Stallone turned down the role, as at the time, his daughters were verging on their teenage years, and Stuntman Mike’s M.O. was hunting down young women and killing them with his car. However, this doesn’t mean it is too late for the two to finally collaborate with Quentin Tarantino’s final movie, granted the filmmaker doesn’t have Stallone killing any young women.
4. Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman‘s role in the iconic Pulp Fiction served as a springboard for a succesful career. In 2003, she re-teamed with Tarantino for the revenge epic, Kill Bill, which came in two parts, with the second hitting theaters in 2004. Although the movie was a glaring success, the two have not worked together since after some behind the scenes drama unfolded.
During the filming of Kill Bill, Uma Thurman was involved in a car crash that resulted in injuries to her neck and knees. In a revealing interview with The New York Times in 2018, Thurman disclosed that Tarantino had allegedly coerced her into driving the car herself, despite her concerns about its safety. After the two seemed to feud for a number of years, it appeared that they had buried the hatchet when Tarantino began speaking about a potential Kill Bill: Volume 3, stating that he had been in discussions with Thurman and her daughter, Maya Hawke. Although this project hasn’t seen the light of day, it unveils the intriguing possibility that Thurman would be open to joining Quentin Tarantino’s final movie if an offer comes her way.
3. Denzel Washington
While Tarantino was coming up in the movie industry, he was receiving massive levels of praise for his slick and authentic dialogue. As a result, he was hired on numerous movies to rework the script and flesh out the dialogue. One of these movies was Tony Scott‘s Crimson Tide. However, problems arose when Tarantino’s additions didn’t sit well with the film’s lead star, Denzel Washington.
During the filming of the movie, Washington took offense to Tarantino’s dialogue which he labelled as racist. In fact, he even went as far as to publicly confront him about the matter on set. This triggered a nearly decade-long feud between the two. However, this rivalry ended in 2012 when Denzel’s daughter Kerry Washington was cast in Tarantino’s western epic, Django Unchained. What’s more, when both men appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show, Ross quizzed Tarantino on why he has never cast Washington in his movies, to which Tarantino replied that it would be “his honour” and hailed him as “one of the best actors in the world”. With that said, it certainly would be interesting to see Washington take on a role in Quentin Tarantino’s final movie.
2. Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro’s performance in Jackie Brown is one of his most understated renditions of his career that really doesn’t get enough recognition. After this movie, the two have never worked together since. Although he has faced some backlash for his more recent roles in rather distasteful comedic affairs like Dirty Grandpa, De Niro has proven he still has great dramatic ability thanks to his roles in movies like Silver Linings Playbook, Amsterdam, and the Oscar-winning Joker. In 2024, De Niro landed his first Academy Award nomination since 2013, with his role in Killers of the Flower Moon.
Although he seems to not plan on slowing down anytime soon, The Movie Critic would mark the final chance De Niro has to parter up with Tarantino once more. And although the rest of Hollywood studios and filmmakers seem to have struggles casting men of De Niro’s age, Tarantino is a completely different beast. With each movie he makes, there is always a surprise casting element on display that reigns triumphant no matter how out-of-the-box it may seem.
1. Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler is another example of an actor who Quentin Tarantino has eyed for a role but never managed to prevail on his casting vision. Before Eli Roth was cast as the brutal Donny Donowitz in Inglorious Basterds, Sandler was Tarantino’s initial choice. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Sandler had to turn down the role as the baseball bat wielding Nazi killer, and he was actually pretty upset that he missed out on the opportunity. When speaking with RTE in 2008, Sandler stated that Tarantino had asked him to be a part of his new production, but he had to decline as he would be doing another film at the same time. Sandler continued, saying that he had known Tarantino for a long time and that they had even discussed working together for a while.
With Sandler taking a dramatic turn in recent years with films like Uncut Gems, Hustle, and the upcoming Spaceman, it would exciting to see him board Quentin Tarantino’s final movie in yet another dramatic rendition. However, it is perhaps Sandler’s wacky comedic flair that Tarantino would seek out, as his movies are often spliced with humour. Either way, Sandler would be a perfect addition to the cast of The Movie Critic. Until more details are announced, read more about Sandler’s latest movie, Spaceman.
