Brad Pitt Is Back as Cliff Booth—But This Time David Fincher Is Behind the Camera

Sep 21

Cliff Booth is back. Brad Pitt is returning to the role that won him an Academy Award in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, but this time Quentin Tarantino isn't sitting in the director's chair.

David Fincher is. Netflix has released the first trailer for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, reuniting Pitt with the character while putting him in the hands of one of Hollywood's most distinctive filmmakers.

And that's what makes the film much more intriguing than the average sequel.

Tarantino created the character of Cliff Booth, and Fincher's film redefines expectations.

Cliff Booth: Quentin Tarantino created Cliff Booth, and Tarantino remains deeply connected to the new film as its screenwriter.

But handing the character to Fincher immediately changes expectations. Tarantino and Fincher may both be filmmakers with unmistakable visual and narrative identities, but those identities aren't particularly similar.

Tarantino's Cliff existed inside an exaggerated, nostalgic version of late-1960s Hollywood—a world of movie stars, stuntmen, Westerns, neon signs, and an alternate version of history.

Fincher's filmmaking tends to operate somewhere considerably colder. Fincher is the director behind Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, and Gone Girl. His characters frequently exist inside worlds of obsession, power, manipulation, and moral ambiguity.

Cliff Booth should fit comfortably there.

Brad Pitt Returns to an Oscar-Winning Role

Pitt's performance as Booth became one of the defining elements of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. The stuntman was laid-back, charismatic, and frequently dangerous, operating as both employee and friend to Leonardo DiCaprio's struggling actor Rick Dalton. The performance earned Pitt the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Returning to an Oscar-winning character can be risky. Part of Booth's appeal came from only partially understanding him. Tarantino provided pieces of the character's history without necessarily answering every question surrounding him. A movie centered more directly on Cliff could either deepen that mystery or explain too much of it.

Fincher now gets to find that balance.

A Different Hollywood

The new movie also gives the filmmakers an opportunity to explore another chapter of Hollywood history.

Rather than simply recreating the world of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth moves the character forward.

That means a changing movie business, a changing Los Angeles, and potentially a changing Cliff Booth. The title itself suggests we're not necessarily getting a conventional sequel.

This is another adventure. The filmmakers refer to it as a misadventure.

Fincher and Pitt Have History

This isn't David Fincher and Brad Pitt's first trip together. Their collaborations include Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button—three very different films that also represent significant moments in both men's careers.

That history makes the pairing particularly intriguing. Fincher knows how to use Pitt's movie-star charisma while finding something stranger underneath it.

Cliff Booth already contains both qualities.

Netflix Is Thinking Big

There is another intriguing element surrounding the release. Netflix is positioning The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth for an IMAX theatrical release, marking new territory for the streamer.

The long-running debate surrounding Netflix, theatrical windows, and the presentation of its movies makes the film notable. A David Fincher film starring Brad Pitt and built around a character audiences already know gives Netflix the kind of project that can be treated as an event rather than simply another title appearing on the platform.