Brad Pitt Returns as Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Spin-Off With a Release Date and $40 Million in His Pocket

It is official. Brad Pitt is returning to one of his most beloved roles, and the details are every bit as spectacular as fans of the original could have hoped. Netflix has confirmed the title, the release dates and the creative team behind The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth — the long-anticipated spin-off from Quentin Tarantino's 2019 masterpiece Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Directed by David Fincher and written by Tarantino himself, the film will launch on a two-week global IMAX run from 25 November before arriving on Netflix on 23 December — putting it squarely in the awards conversation heading into the new year.

Pitt, who took home his first acting Oscar for playing the laconic, enigmatic Cliff Booth in the original film, is reportedly being paid $40 million to star in and produce the sequel. It is a figure that reflects both his box office pull and the sheer scale of anticipation surrounding the project.

Set in 1977 — eight years after the events of the first film — the story centres on Booth navigating a Hollywood that has changed almost beyond recognition. Production wrapped after a six-month shoot in California in January 2026, though the film has since been in post-production, with recent reports confirming that reshoots have been ordered. Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth is set to step in and replace Erik Messerschmidt as director of photography for those additional scenes.

That candid admission came from Tarantino himself, explaining on the Church of Tarantino podcast why he chose not to direct the sequel. The filmmaker — who has long maintained he will retire after completing ten features — did not want his final directorial effort to be a follow-up to existing work, handing the reins instead to Fincher.

For Pitt, this marks his fourth collaboration with Fincher, following Se7en (1995), Fight Club (1999) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) — a filmography that reads like a roll call of modern cinema's most talked-about works.

The supporting cast is equally impressive. Joining Pitt are Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Peter Weller, Matt Groove, JB Tadena, Corey Fogelmanis and Karren Karagulian — a deep ensemble that signals Fincher and Tarantino are taking the expanded world of this story seriously.

The original Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was both a critical triumph and a commercial one, grossing $377 million worldwide and earning ten Academy Award nominations, with wins for Pitt's performance and for Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh in the Best Production Design category.

With Fincher's meticulous eye, Tarantino's distinctive voice on the page, and Pitt at his most bankable, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth arrives with the weight of enormous expectation — and, on the evidence of what has been assembled, every reason to meet it.