10 Great Tarantino Films That Never Happened

Quentin Tarantino has been considered one of the most original and influential screenwriters and filmmakers in the industry. The man tells stories that nobody in Hollywood has ever dared to tell, and every scene shines the spotlight on fascinating characters. Fans may think they know his vast universe inside and out, but a shocking number of projects just barely missed the mark of becoming a chapter in the Tarantino legacy. Here is a list of ten films that Quentin never had the chance to give us.

10. The Vega Brothers

It’s no secret that Michael Madsen’s Vic Vega from Reservoir Dogs and John Travolta’s Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction are brothers. But a lot of you fans may not know how close they came to heading their own film. “I even had a title for it,” said Tarantino, in a 2007 interview on Opie and Anthony. “It was called Double V Vega. It actually would have taken place during the time Vincent was in Amsterdam, when he was running one of Marsellus’s clubs in Amsterdam. And Vic goes to visit him.”

Due to the fact that both characters died on screen in their respective films, Double V Vega would have had to be a prequel. Unfortunately, due to the aging of both actors, the chances of Tarantino ever pursuing the project again seem rather slim. But, the legendary duo (though never actually seen together) will live on through the legacies of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

9. John Brown Biopic

Quentin Tarantino is one talented storyteller, but we never did (and likely never will) seen him bring a true story to the big screen. In August of 2009, Tarantino said on The Charlie Rose Show that he was interested in a film surrounding abolitionist John Brown. “John Brown is my favorite American who ever lived,” he said. “He basically, single-handedly, started the road to end slavery…”

Despite Tarantino’s attempts to disassociate the two projects, many have speculated that the treatment for this film eventually evolved into Django Unchained. The project may not have been permanently sidelined, as Tarantino has claimed, “It would be one of the last movies I do.” Still, many people find it unlikely the script will ever reach fruition, as Quentin will most likely move on after the success of the slavery-centric Django.

8. Less Than Zero

Since 2002, it’s been rumored that Tarantino was interested in adapting Less Than Zero, a dramatic novel written by Bret Easton Ellis and published in 1985. These rumors were widely spread after the release of The Rules of Attraction, a film based upon another of Ellis’s novels and written by Roger Avary, Quentin’s close friend and collaborator on films such as True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction.

Less Than Zero had been loosely adapted to film once before in 1987, with Andrew McCarthy and Robert Downey, Jr. starring. Ellis himself confirmed in an interview for Vice magazine that Tarantino was “trying to get Fox to let him remake it.” Tarantino, however, has remained quiet on the subject, and no official move has been made to further the production process.

7. Jules Winnfield Film

“I will never do Pulp Fiction 2,” said Quentin, “but having said that, I could very well do other movies with these characters.” Twenty years have passed since the initial release of Pulp Fiction, and none of these characters have reappeared. Or have they?

Toward the end of Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson’s fan-favorite Jules Winnfield leaves his hit-man job behind and decides that he will “walk the earth, like Caine in Kung Fu.” Ten years later, Jackson made a cameo appearance in Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2, as a piano-playing drifter known only as Rufus. Many fans have speculated that perhaps this is our first glimpse at Jules’s life post-Pulp.

Sam Jackson is another frequent collaborator of Quentin’s, working his way into Jackie Brown, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight. That being said, it seems that if Jules was to star in a standalone movie, by this point in time, it would have happened already.

6. Quentin Tarantino’s Casino Royale

Before Daniel Craig stole the role of Britain’s top spy, Quentin Tarantino had his own plans for the novel that launched the James Bond franchise. “Casino Royale was the one I wanted to direct,” he said in a 2012 interview for the website We Got This Covered. “They missed their chance.” Tarantino’s film would have been a period piece set in the 1960s, filmed in black and white, and still starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond.

Quentin’s take on the original 007 adventure would have been a fascinating addition both to the Bond series and to his own filmography. It’s a shame that audiences never got the chance to see what a Tarantino-Bond film would look like, forcing us to wonder how it would compare to the action-packed thrillers we’ve seen with Daniel Craig.

5. Berlin Game

Tarantino’s no quitter, and he sure didn’t let a snub from the Bond producers keep him from flirting with the spy genre. While attending a press release for Inglourious Basterds in the UK, he stated, “One of the things I am musing about doing is the trilogy of Len Deighton books Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match.” Just like Casino Royale, the series follows a British spy through a series of missions during the Cold War.

No one is quite sure what happened to Tarantino’s plans for the project. He expressed great joy at the “wonderful opportunities of British and German casting,” and plenty of his former collaborator’s names were tossed around, including Michael Fassbender, Christoph Waltz, and Tim Roth. But the famous director never mentioned the series again, and has since moved onto other projects.

4. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Back in 2003, Quentin mentioned that he was “interested in making a sexploitation film,” and the rumors started flying about a possible Tarantino-rendition of Russ Meyer’s 1965 cult favorite Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! The film would follow a trio of exotic dancers “just going out drinking, having a good time, hooking up.” Among the names thrown around with this title are Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, Britney Spears, and Carmen Electra.

Back in 2007, Tarantino noted in an interview with The Daily Telegraph that if he were to film legitimate sex scenes, the actresses “would have to be down with it.” He also stated that, “If I actually do an erotic movie, I’m going to have to reveal what I find sexy, what turns me on.” It seems that Quentin is too much of a gentleman to expose his sexual desires (as well as the actresses under his direction) to the world, and this Tarantino remake isn’t likely to pull through.

3. The Twilight Zone

Quentin Tarantino never publicly referenced the rumors surrounding a possible reboot of The Twilight Zone, but we wouldn’t be surprised to find that he was involved. The classic TV series, of which he is a great fan, has been made into a film once before, back in 1983. It featured four different segments helmed by different directors – not unlike Four Rooms, for which Tarantino directed the segment titled The Man from Hollywood.

Tarantino’s long-time friend and collaborator Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado) was also rumored to be involved with the project, along with fellow directors Frank Miller (Sin City) and Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces). It’s unfortunate that such a project never reached further development. One can only wonder what Quentin could have contributed to the everlasting Twilight Zone legacy.

2. Kill Bill: Vol. 3

While talking about the success of the Kill Bill films in an Italian TV interview back in 2009, Quentin teased a third installment in the series with the words, “The Bride will fight again.” Later that year, at the Morelia International Film Festival, the director confirmed his plans to release another Kill Bill installment, stating that he wanted 10 years to pass, “in order to give her and her daughter a period of peace.”

During a 2012 interview for We Got This Covered that Kill Bill: Vol. 3 would “probably not” happen. No reason for his annulment of the project was ever given, though many have speculated that the story was simply over. After all, the film is called Kill Bill, and the titular mission is accomplished. While it would be nice to see Uma Thurman’s Bride return to action, perhaps it is best that we leave the legend be.

1. Killer Crow

In late 2012, Tarantino declared in an interview with The Root magazine that his final entry in what he called the “Django-Inglourious Basterds trilogy” would be a World War II picture called Killer Crow. The film would depict a team of African-American soldiers who have deceived by the military and “go on an Apache warpath and kill a bunch of white soldiers and white officers on a military based and are just making a warpath to Switzerland.”

“I don’t know when exactly I’m going to do it,” he said, and fans of his films anticipated more news on the project’s development. But Killer Crow was sidelined when Quentin announced that Django Unchained would be followed by another Western, and The Hateful Eight entered pre-production. Whether or not Tarantino ever plans to revisit his treatment for Killer Crow remains unknown.

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