Quentin Tarantino is returning to the world of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but this time he is taking his cult favorite character Cliff Booth from the screen to the page.
The filmmaker is writing a new novel centered on Cliff Booth, the longtime stuntman played by Brad Pitt in the Oscar-winning 2019 movie. Titled The Adventures of Cliff Booth, the book is scheduled to arrive later this year, ahead of the release of a new movie adaptation featuring Pitt and directed by David Fincher for Netflix.
The novel will be published on December 8, giving fans an opportunity to revisit Tarantino’s fictional version of Hollywood shortly before the new film arrives in theaters.
The sequel movie, officially titled The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, is scheduled to open in IMAX theaters on November 25 before making its Netflix debut on December 23.
That unusual release schedule means audiences will encounter Cliff Booth in two different forms within a matter of weeks — first through Fincher’s cinematic continuation and then through Tarantino’s novel.
Tarantino Returns to One of His Most Popular Characters
Cliff Booth became one of the most memorable characters in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, thanks in large part to Brad Pitt’s performance.
The original film, released in 2019, followed two friends navigating a rapidly changing Hollywood at the end of the 1960s.
Leonardo DiCaprio played actor Rick Dalton, while Pitt portrayed Booth, Dalton’s longtime stunt double and close companion.
Although Dalton was the actor whose career was at the center of the story, Booth quickly became a fan favorite.
Pitt’s performance earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, marking one of the most celebrated moments of his career.
Now Tarantino is expanding Booth’s story.
The new novel is not simply another version of the original movie. Instead, it is expected to explore Booth’s life and adventures several years after the events of the first film.
What Is ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’ About?
While Tarantino and the filmmakers have kept many details about the new story under wraps, the novel’s description offers a glimpse into the world readers can expect.
The story moves forward to 1977, approximately eight years after the events of the original film.
The description teases:
“The Swinging Sixties are long gone — but Clifford Booth keeps on keeping on…”
The description goes on to present Booth as a man whose unusual life has taken him through a variety of occupations and experiences.
He is described as a war hero, stuntman, bartender and cinema projectionist, while also becoming involved in occasional “clandestine services” for friends.
That description suggests that the new story will preserve the eccentric, genre-hopping spirit associated with Tarantino’s fictional Hollywood.
Booth was never presented as a conventional Hollywood hero.
He was mysterious, physically capable and difficult to read, with a complicated history that the original film deliberately revealed piece by piece.
The new novel provides Tarantino with an opportunity to explore that character more deeply.
The Story Moves From the 1960s to 1977
The change in setting is particularly important.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was firmly rooted in 1969, a period when Hollywood was undergoing dramatic cultural and industrial changes.
The original story also used the real-life Manson Family murders as part of its historical backdrop.
Margot Robbie portrayed actress Sharon Tate, while the movie incorporated fictional characters such as Dalton and Booth into a heavily stylized version of late-1960s Hollywood.
The new story moves forward to 1977.
That puts Booth in a substantially different Hollywood.
The optimism and counterculture associations of the late 1960s have faded, while the entertainment industry has entered another period of transformation.
For Tarantino, the time jump creates an opportunity to explore how Booth fits into an industry that has changed around him.
Brad Pitt Returns as Cliff Booth
The upcoming movie will once again put Brad Pitt at the center of the story.
Pitt’s portrayal of Booth was one of the defining elements of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The character combined a relaxed personality with an intimidating physical presence and an enigmatic past.
His friendship with Rick Dalton provided much of the emotional foundation of the original film.
The new story shifts the focus more directly onto Booth.
While the complete plot remains secret, the title itself — The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth — suggests that the character will once again find himself involved in unusual situations.
The word “further” is also significant because the project is explicitly positioned as a continuation rather than a remake or unrelated spin-off.
Pitt’s involvement gives the movie a direct connection to the original film, while Tarantino’s novel allows the character to continue existing in written form.
David Fincher Takes Over Behind the Camera
One of the biggest changes from the original movie is the director.
Tarantino wrote and directed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but he will not direct the new film.
Instead, David Fincher is directing The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth for Netflix.
Fincher is known for films including Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network and Gone Girl, as well as his work in television.
His involvement gives the sequel a distinctly different filmmaking identity.
Tarantino’s screenplay provides the connection to the original story, while Fincher brings his own directing style to the character.
The movie is being produced for Netflix, which represents another major difference from the original film.
Why Tarantino Isn’t Directing the Sequel
For fans wondering why Tarantino isn’t returning to the director’s chair, the answer is connected to a long-running philosophy about his career.
Tarantino has repeatedly discussed his desire to retire after making 10 movies.
He has directed nine feature films so far, including landmark titles such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds.
Because he views his tenth movie as an important final chapter, Tarantino apparently did not want a sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to become his last film.
He has also expressed another concern: familiarity.
Discussing the project previously, Tarantino explained that although he loved the script, he felt that making the movie himself would mean returning to creative territory he had already explored.
“I love this script, but I’m still walking down the same ground I’ve already walked,” he said.
The filmmaker explained that he wanted his final movie to put him somewhere creatively unfamiliar.
“This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory,” he said.
That decision ultimately opened the door for Fincher to direct the film.
Tarantino Has Already Written a Hollywood Novel
The Cliff Booth project also isn’t Tarantino’s first experience turning his Hollywood universe into a novel.
Following the release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino published a novelization of the 2019 film.
The book gave readers an opportunity to explore the story in a different format and offered additional context surrounding its characters and events.
With The Adventures of Cliff Booth, however, Tarantino is moving beyond simply adapting the original movie into prose.
This time, the novel is focused on what happens to one of its most recognizable characters after the events of the film.
That makes the project particularly interesting for readers who want to spend more time with Booth.
The Original ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Was a Major Success
The first film was both a critical and commercial success.
Released by Sony in 2019, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was made on a reported $90 million budget and went on to earn approximately $377 million worldwide.
The film also received 10 Academy Award nominations and won two Oscars.
Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Cliff Booth.
The movie’s other Oscar win came for production design.
The success of the original helped establish Tarantino’s fictional version of Hollywood as one of the filmmaker’s most recognizable worlds.
It also left audiences with a character who was compelling enough to carry another story.
Netflix Invests in the Cliff Booth Sequel
The new movie is being developed by Netflix, which reportedly committed approximately $200 million to produce the film.
That makes the project considerably different in scale and distribution strategy from the original Sony release.
The sequel will first receive an IMAX theatrical release on November 25, allowing audiences to see Fincher’s film on the big screen before its Netflix debut on December 23.
The timing of Tarantino’s novel is also notable.
The Adventures of Cliff Booth arrives on December 8, between those two release dates.
That gives fans multiple opportunities to experience the character during the same period.
A New Chapter for Tarantino’s Hollywood Universe
The combination of a novel and feature film makes the Cliff Booth project unusual.
Tarantino created the character and wrote the screenplay, but Fincher is directing the movie while Tarantino expands the story through prose.
That creates two separate interpretations of the same character.
The novel can explore Booth’s thoughts, background and adventures in ways that a two-hour movie may not.
The film, meanwhile, can bring the character back to the screen through Pitt’s performance and Fincher’s visual approach.
For fans of the original movie, both versions offer a chance to return to the fictional Hollywood Tarantino created.
What to Expect From ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’
At this point, the complete storyline remains largely secret.
The available description confirms that the story takes place in 1977 and presents Booth as someone who has lived several unusual lives.
His résumé includes military service, stunt work, bartending and working as a cinema projectionist.
The reference to occasional “clandestine services” also suggests that his mysterious past may remain an important part of the character.
The novel’s December 8 publication date gives readers an opportunity to discover more about Booth around the same time that the movie begins its theatrical run.
Conclusion
Quentin Tarantino is expanding one of his most memorable movie characters with The Adventures of Cliff Booth, a new novel centered on the stuntman portrayed by Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The book arrives on December 8, while the cinematic continuation, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, reaches IMAX theaters on November 25 before debuting on Netflix on December 23.
The story moves forward to 1977, eight years after the original film, placing Cliff Booth in a very different era of Hollywood.
While Tarantino created the character and wrote the sequel screenplay, he has chosen not to direct the movie. His decision is tied partly to his long-standing plan to retire from directing after his tenth feature and partly to his desire for his final film to take him into creative territory he has not explored before.
David Fincher will instead direct the movie, giving the sequel a new filmmaking perspective, while Pitt returns to the role that earned him an Oscar.
For Tarantino, the project also represents another opportunity to explore the world of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood through literature.
Whether readers discover Cliff Booth’s next chapter through the novel or audiences follow him back onto the big screen, the character is about to embark on another unusual Hollywood adventure.
And this time, Tarantino gets to tell the story in two different ways.