Quentin Tarantino May Shoot His Final Film in Summer 2027, Says DP Robert Richardson

Robert Richardson, the three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer, affectionately nicknamed “Big Bad Bob” by Brad Pitt, spent the July 4 weekend at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Speaking with Deadline, Richardson revisits his legendary partnership with director Oliver Stone, from “The Doors” “JFK” to “Natural Born Killers” which proved to be their most difficult collaboration. They reunited once more for “U Turn” before ultimately going their separate ways.

He also offers fresh insight into his iconic collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, which has spanned six films—or five, if, like Tarantino, you count the ‘Kill Bill’ instalments as a single movie.

Richardson says nobody—including himself—knows what Tarantino’s 10th and supposedly final film will be. Rather, he revealed that Tarantino is focused on finishing his stage play before returning to filmmaking, citing a potential summer 2027 shoot as a possibility. Beyond that, Richardson said the director has kept the project entirely under wraps. “Nobody knows what he’s going to do,” he said, adding that whatever Tarantino makes next, “he won’t be walking down the same path he’s currently walking.”

Richardson also confirmed he had originally been lined up to shoot Tarantino’s abandoned project “The Movie Critic.” He had already committed to another film, “Michael,” directed by Antoine Fuqua, when Tarantino personally called asking him to leave because “The Movie Critic” was intended to be his final movie. Fuqua immediately released Richardson from his commitment, but after pre-production had begun Tarantino abandoned the screenplay, telling his longtime cinematographer he wanted to write an entirely different film. That replacement project, “The Adventures of Cliff Booth,” ultimately also fell apart, leaving Tarantino’s final feature once again a mystery.

Richardson confirms that he was also set to shoot ‘Cliff Booth,’ before it was delayed due to Brad Pitt making F1. “So that film died,” said the cinematographer. “That was basically one-and-a-half to two years that I didn’t work.”

Looking ahead, Richardson says he recently completed photography on “Madden,” directed by David O. Russell. While praising Russell as “seriously brilliant,” he also describes him as “highly unpredictable.” He admits remaining uncertain about his own cinematography on the film because the shoot moved at an exceptionally fast pace and he has yet to see a finished cut.

Looking back at “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Richardson believes audiences should expect to see an extended edition eventually. He confirms the vast amount of material shot for the film, and that it would be surprising if Tarantino never revisited it, particularly after David Fincher’s upcoming continuation of the story. “You’d be a fool not to think there’ll be something that’s longer,” Richardson said.

UPDATE: Here’s more Richardson, this time with Screen Daily, adding more details about the next Tarantino.

“He’s not going to talk about [the next film]; it’s some time next year, the exact time isn’t locked. It could be prepped in the summer, it depends on how the play does and where it goes.”

“The next film will be a very fresh Quentin,” said Richardson. “He’s going to get out of The Movie Critic [a script which Tarantino planned to make as his final feature before abandoning the project in 2024] and the sequel to “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.” This next chapter will be something fresh.”

“But then Quentin called me a month later and said ‘I’m not going to make it, I’ve written a new script’. He sent me that, and that’s more or less what Fincher is now making [“The Adventures Of Cliff Booth”].