Tarantino surprises AFI Fest with 17 minutes of Fincher's 'Cliff Booth'
Quentin Tarantino screened the first 17 minutes of "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth," which he wrote and David Fincher directed, at AFI Fest in Hollywood on Friday. The Netflix film, with Brad Pitt returning as Booth, opens in IMAX Nov. 25 and streams Dec. 23.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
After a Friday-night AFI Fest screening of "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Quentin Tarantino told the crowd he could talk about the follow-up "or I could show you the first 17 minutes," then screened the opening of "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth," Variety reported. David Fincher, who directed the film from Tarantino's script, was in attendance.
Why it matters
It is the first public look at one of Netflix's biggest holiday releases, and an unusual handoff: Tarantino wrote a sequel to his own film for another major director, and says he now sees himself mainly as a writer.
More context
The film: Brad Pitt returns as stuntman Cliff Booth, the role that won him an Oscar. The story jumps from 1969 to 1977, with Booth working as a bartender and cinema projectionist while acting as a Hollywood "fixer," according to the logline quoted by Variety. Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Peter Weller also star. Netflix opens it in IMAX theaters on Nov. 25 before streaming on Dec. 23.
Why Tarantino came back to Booth: He recalled a review line that the 2019 film "seems like the first world Quentin Tarantino has ever created that he would like to live in." He said, "I loved the Cliff Booth character, I loved the way that Brad played him," describing Booth as "sort of like a paperback hero" (THR, Variety).
Why he didn't direct: "As I'm getting older, being a man of letters is more my thing," Tarantino said, "so screenplays and books and plays — everything except poetry" (THR). He said rehearsals for his stage play "The Popinjay Cavalier," starring Sacha Baron Cohen, begin in November ahead of London West End previews in February (Variety).
Timeline: 2019 — "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood," set in 1969, is released; Pitt later wins the supporting-actor Oscar for playing Booth. Burt Reynolds, cast as ranch owner George Spahn, died before filming, though Tarantino said his last performance was the script reading (the role went to Bruce Dern). 2026 — Fincher directs Tarantino's sequel script, set in 1977. Oct. 23 — first 17 minutes shown at AFI Fest. Nov. 25 — IMAX release. Dec. 23 — Netflix. February 2027 — West End previews of "The Popinjay Cavalier."
What's still unknown: How long the IMAX run lasts before the Netflix debut, and when a full trailer arrives.
3 listed sources
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Sourcing: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, Oct. 24, 2026; quotes are from Tarantino's on-stage Q&A as reported by Variety and THR. The footage has not been released publicly. Photos are file images, not from Friday's event.
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