It's been no secret that acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino is planning to end his illustrious film career following his tenth directorial effort. He most recently reiterated his plans in 2021 while promoting his new book based on his most recent film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — a film that took home two out of the ten Academy Awards it was nominated for. During a new interview on CNN's Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?, the director was once again asked about his tenth film and why, after so much recent success and a track record of hits, Tarantino would decide to hang it up after only one more film.
Tarantino's career is about as prolific as they come, from irreverent crime dramas like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs to the westerns Django: Unchained and The Hateful Eight and even a glorious war drama with Inglorious Basterds. He's become a staple director for film history buffs and film study classes for his work, earning a pair of Academy Awards along with a slew of other honors throughout his career. He's also acutely aware of film history himself and, in that previous discussion regarding his final film, he cited how it seemed many filmmakers didn't continue to get better despite being considered in their prime.
This time around, he spoke to Chris Wallace about his own fears of sounding out of touch as the film industry rapidly changes around him, especially since he's been in the business for so long. He explained:
"Thank you. Well, it's...I've been doing it for a long time. I've been doing it for 30 years, and it's, it's time to wrap up the show. Like I said I'm an entertainer. I want to leave you wanting more you know, and not just work and I don't want to work to diminishing returns. I don't want to be...one, I don't want to become this old man who's out of touch, who had already I'm feeling a bit like an old man out of touch when it comes to the current movies that are out right now. And that's what happens."
How Will Tarantino Close Out His Career?
With his commitment to one final film, Wallace asked the big question of what that tenth film could be. There's been previous speculation that it could be the long-awaited Kill Bill: Vol. 3, which the director has bandied about for years, though Tarantino has remained tight-lipped about any plans for the final project. He told Wallace that he hadn't even come up with an idea for the final project and said he was planning to take his time to mull it over, adding:
"No I don't at all, because I I'm also not in a giant hurry to make my last movie either. Right now I don't even know what a movie is. Is that something that plays on Netflix? Is that something that plays on Amazon and everyone want and people watch it on their couch with their wife or their husband? Is that a movie? Because my last movie opened up in 3000 theaters and played all over the world for you know for a couple of months."
Full episodes of Who's Talking to Chris Wallace are available to stream on HBO Max. See the trailer for the film Tarantino has to follow up, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, below.