Pitt joins DiCaprio in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

New details on writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s latest film have been revealed in the announcement that Brad Pitt has signed on to co-star in the film with the previously announced Leonardo DiCaprio.

The film, which has been referred to as “Tarantino’s Manson movie” because it is set in 1969 Los Angeles and has some connections to the Manson murders, and as “#9” because it’s Tarantino’s ninth film and the count is important to him (so much that he even called his eighth movie THE HATEFUL EIGHT), is officially titled ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.

This title is a nod to the titles of the Sergio Leone films ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. Tarantino has long been fascinated by those titles, encouraging his friend Robert Rodriguez to make a movie called ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO and beginning his own INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS with the text “Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France”.

Tarantino describes his film as 

a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor… Sharon Tate.”

Tarantino adds that he has

been working on this script for five years, as well as living in Los Angeles County most of my life, including in 1969, when I was seven years old. I’m very excited to tell this story of an LA and a Hollywood that don’t exist anymore. And I couldn’t be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio & Pitt as Rick & Cliff.”

While a lot of fans seem to be very happy with the casting of Pitt, I was disappointed to read the news because Tom Cruise had been up for the same role and I was hoping hard that he would sign on. Tarantino is one of my favorite directors, Cruise is one of my favorite actors, and I was very excited that there was a possibility they might work together. I’ve never been a Pitt fan, but I will admit that he has the look to be DiCaprio’s stunt double.

I’ll hold on to hope that Cruise might show up in the film as a different character. Other actors up for roles include Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate and Al Pacino as a character Tarantino wrote specifically for him.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD is a reunion for Tarantino and his two leads – DiCaprio was in DJANGO UNCHAINED and Pitt was in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.

Sony will be releasing the film on August 9, 2019.