Quentin Tarantino can easily be one of the most genius yet pickiest filmmakers in Hollywood. Additionally, he ensures that every film bearing his name is exceptional and devoid of any mediocrity. That is the only explanation for the director’s previous statements that he hopes to make ten excellent movies and leave Tinsel Town with a well-curated legacy in cinema history.
It was reported in the past that Tarantino would be helming J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek 4 as his final movie. But the director left that project to get on board with The Movie Critic. Screenwriter Mark L. Smith explained the director’s thinking behind this in a past interview.
Why Did Quentin Tarantino Abandon the Star Trek 4 Project?
For Tarantino, quality comes above anything else. That is the main reason why, unlike many directors who keep on working behind the lens for several years, he wants to wrap things up with ten movies. His reasoning for this is that he wants to decrease the risk of him directing low-quality movies (via Cinema Blend).
But while many understood his reasoning, they couldn’t figure out why the filmmaker left such a famous franchise like Star Trek behind for The Movie Critic. To answer these questions, Collider had got in touch with screenwriter Mark L. Smith in 2023, who worked alongside Tarantino on the scrapped Star Trek 4 script. He added that the filmmaker wanted his last movie to be more impactful. He added:
I remember we were talking, and he goes, ‘If I can just wrap my head around the idea that Star Trek could be my last movie, the last thing I ever do. Is this how I want to end it?’ And I think that was the bump he could never get across, so the script is still sitting there on his desk.
The screenwriter added that while now highly unlikely, a Tarantino-directed Star Trek movie would have been extraordinary with what “Tarantino was going to do with it.” Smith further added that if Tarantino had continued with the movie, his vision would have been a “hard R” that is R-rated.
Further, the legendary filmmaker was going to incorporate his signature Pulp Fiction violence but with a toned-down language.
Why Did Quentin Tarantino Cancel The Movie Critic?
The Movie Critic was formally announced in 2022, with Tarantino’s vision for the movie shrouded in secrecy. The entire cast and crew of the movie were so tight-lipped that even after a year of announcement, not a lot was known about the plot or the cast. However, during this period, several casting rumors started swirling around Tinsel Town, with names ranging from Tom Cruise to Paul Walter Hauser.
While these names were never officially confirmed by 2024, Brad Pitt was revealed to be a part of this movie (via Screen Rant). However, his role and involvement in the movie were kept under wraps. But in a surprising turn of events, Quentin Tarantino announced in April 2024 that he was abandoning The Movie Critic entirely. This quickly made headlines, given that it was supposed to be his 10th and final movie.
While Tarantino had a history of abandoning projects, this came as a huge surprise to fans who were eagerly anticipating the project. Further, just like in Star Trek 4, the reasoning for Tarantino leaving this project (as revealed by an unnamed representative of Tarantino) was that he wanted to “go out on top.”
