Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is just one of the numerous blockbusters released this year that approached the three hour mark, but it sounds like an even longer cut of Tarantino’s latest masterpiece may be headed to Netflix soon.
According to The New York Times entertainment reporter Kyle Buchanan, Tarantino told many actors excised from his epic ode to the 1960s that their parts would be reinstated in an extended edition headed for the streaming service. However, it sounds like this new cut of the movie won’t be one complete feature but rather, a multiple-part miniseries not unlike his recent retooling of The Hateful Eight that hit Netflix earlier this year.
I keep hearing Tarantino told the ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD actors that he’ll put their deleted scenes back when he recuts the film into episodes for Netflix, akin to what he recently did with HATEFUL EIGHT
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) August 1, 2019
Proving there may be more weight to this rumor than just one an unsubstantiated tweet, however, are the words of actor Nicholas Hammond, who plays Sam Wanamaker in the film. On a recent episode of The Mutuals podcast, Hammond corroborated the writer-director’s vow, saying:
“The promise is that like his other film, The Hateful Eight, they just done a 4-hour Netflix version. And I think they’re talking about doing the same. There are some actors like Tim Roth, wonderful actors, who never even made it into the film. I mean, their entire roles got cut.”
Roth was one of the many actors originally attached to Tarantino’s ninth picture, but was ultimately cut from its lengthy running time (though his name still appears in the credits). Westworld star James Marsden was also attached to play a young Burt Reynolds, but he too was left on the cutting room floor. While it’s a bit of a bummer that we won’t get to see these roles projected up on the big screen, I don’t think too many people will complain about any additional footage Tarantino wants to give us, no matter the format.
Despite its intense length, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a film that only benefits from multiple viewings. Dense and atmospheric, it’s worth seeing on the biggest screen possible, again and again—and then once more when it presumably hits Netflix.
