Quentin Tarantino Expands CLIFF BOOTH’s Story With a New Novel Ahead of the Brad Pitt Netflix Movie

Cliff Booth is getting a pretty interesting comeback, and Quentin Tarantino isn’t limiting the character’s return to the screen.

Quentin Tarantino has written a new novel titled The Adventures of Cliff Booth, which will continue the story of Brad Pitt’s effortlessly cool stuntman from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The book arrives December 8, placing it right between the upcoming movie’s IMAX theatrical release and its Netflix streaming debut.

The new film, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, hits IMAX theaters on November 25 before making the jump to Netflix on December 23. Brad Pitt returns to the role that earned him an Academy Award, while David Fincher takes over directing duties from Tarantino.

Tarantino wrote the screenplay for the $200 million Netflix production. The novel is being published by HarperCollins and continues Tarantino’s growing interest in expanding his movies through books. He previously wrote the novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood after the film's 2019 release.

Both versions of the new Cliff Booth story jump forward to Hollywood in 1977, eight years after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Exact story details for the movie remain under wraps, but the description for Tarantino’s book offers a fun idea of what Cliff has been doing with himself:

“The Swinging Sixties are long gone — but Clifford Booth keeps on keeping on…War hero, stuntman, bartender, cinema projectionist…with the occasional “clandestine services” for his friends…”

The original Once Upon a Time in Hollywood followed Leonardo DiCaprio as fading television actor Rick Dalton and Pitt as his longtime stunt double and friend.

Set in late-1960s Los Angeles against the backdrop of the Manson murders, the film also featured Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, the rising actress who was married to director Roman Polanski.

Sony released the movie in 2019, and it became one of Tarantino’s biggest successes. It earned more than $400 million worldwide on a reported $90 million budget, scored 10 Academy Award nominations, and won two Oscars, including Pitt’s Best Supporting Actor trophy.

The most interesting part of The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth may be the combination of Tarantino and Fincher. These are two filmmakers with very different approaches, and Fincher getting a $200 million Netflix production built around one of Tarantino’s most memorable characters is a wild creative pairing.

Tarantino chose not to direct the film himself because he still intends to make only 10 movies. He currently counts nine films in his directing career, including Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Inglourious Basterds, and he doesn't want his final movie to revisit territory he has already explored.

He previously explained: “I love this script, but I’m still walking down the same ground I’ve already walked,” Tarantino said. “It just kind of unenthused me. This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory.”

So Tarantino gets to continue Cliff Booth’s story without using his final directing slot, while Fincher gets to play around in Tarantino’s version of 1970s Hollywood with Pitt back in the driver's seat.

Fans will also have three chances to experience the new chapter in different forms: The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth hits IMAX on November 25, Tarantino’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth novel arrives December 8, and Fincher’s film streams on Netflix beginning December 23.