Brad Pitt Confirms Tarantino’s Plan for Extended ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Miniseries

A Netflix miniseries version of Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" premiered on the streaming service in April.

Shortly after Sony opened Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” in theaters nationwide this summer, rumors circulated the writer-director was thinking about putting back in the footage he removed from the film’s theatrical cut and releasing an extended version of “Hollywood” as a Netflix miniseries. Tarantino did just that with “The Hateful Eight” earlier this year. Would “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” be next? It turns out the rumor is true, at least according to Brad Pitt. The actor confirmed with New York Times carpetbagger Kyle Buchanan that Tarantino has discussed the idea. Pitt says “it’s a pretty arousing idea.”

As IndieWire previously reported, Tarantino’s first assembly cut of “Hollywood” ran four hours and 20 minutes. The film’s theatrical cut came in at just over two hours and 40 minutes. Several scenes that were used in Sony’s promotional trailers and advertisements were not seen in the theatrical cut, including one moment where Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate goes for a swim. Tarantino also cut out scenes he shot with Tim Roth as Jay Sebring’s butler, James Marsden as Burt Reynolds, and Danny Strong as Dean Martin. “Hollywood” Producer David Heyman also told IndieWire that 10-year-old breakout Julia Butters had material cut. Heyman said one of Butters’ cut scenes was so good it would have made her a lock for an Oscar nomination.

Tarantino surprised fans in April by releasing a new version of “The Hateful Eight” on Netflix in a miniseries format. The new release broke the film into four episodes, each with an average length of 50 minutes. Speaking exclusively to /Film about the release, Tarantino revealed it was Netflix who first approached him about the idea of a “Hateful Eight” extended release.

“I thought, wow, that’s really intriguing,” Tarantino said about the pitch. “I mean, the movie exists as a movie, but if I were to use all the footage we shot, and see if I could put it together in episode form, I was game to give that a shot, give that a try.”

Tarantino added that he’s excited by the chance for “fuller versions” of his work to come out, teasing the possibility of his other films becoming “extended miniseries.” The writer-director was adamant that it would all depend on the project. “Kill Bill,” for instance, would never become a miniseries because he shot all the footage he needed to and included all of it in the movie’s two-part release.

Pitt told The New York Times that he would be excited by the idea of an extended “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” release. While Pitt did not confirm if the miniseries would be for Netflix should Tarantino go through with the idea, it appears likely given Tarantino’s release of “Hateful Eight.”

“It’s almost the best of both worlds,” Pitt said of Tarantino’s idea. “You have the cinema experience that exists, but you can actually put more content in the series format.”

“Hollywood” earned glowing reviews from critics and has grossed over $280 million at the worldwide box office. The film is expected to be a top contender for Oscar nominations early next year.

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