The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth Looks Like David Fincher’s Aliens
We want endless Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood sequels, as long as each one has an interesting director.
Sometime back in 1991, David Fincher made the jump to the movies. Fincher had already established himself as an impressive visual stylist, directing the music videos for Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Express Yourself,” and had worked in Hollywood as an employee at George Lucas‘ Industrial Light & Magic. Unfortunately Fincher’s experience making his debut feature Alien 3 went so badly that, to this day, he still disowns the finished film.
Yet, it’s hard not to think about Alien sequels while watching the latest trailer for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth. Not because xenomorphs burst from the chest of the titular stuntman, played once again by Brad Pitt. There’s nothing sci-fi on display in the trailer, just shots of Booth swaggering his way through 1970s Hollywood, and looking incredibly cool while he does it. Rather, we think of Alien 3 because that franchise is all about distinctive auteurs making sequels, and we’re happy to see the tradition continue.
Released in 2019, Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood featured Pitt’s Booth and Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, a fading Hollywood actor. While driver/stunt double Cliff did handyman work and flirted with what turned out to be members of the Manson Family, Rick took on increasingly demeaning television guest roles and pondered making “Eye-talian” movies overseas. Part love-letter to Hollywood and part revisionist history, the film ends with Cliff and Rick battling the Mansons, thereby allowing Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) to continue to live.
Though the movie ended on a hopeful note for the future, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood wasn’t exactly calling out for a sequel. But that’s not the only reason we’re excited that Tarantino decided to only write the script for The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth instead of stepping behind the camera to direct too. We’re also excited because Fincher has his own compelling style, making cool and precise movies instead of the excessive and referential films that Tarantino makes. With Fincher directing, Cliff Booth has the potential to be its own movie instead of just a sequel.
Of course, the precedent for this approach was Alien. The 1978 film directed by Ridley Scott is essentially a haunted house story in space. Ellen Ripley and her fellow crew people aboard the USCSS Nostromo dealt with only one xenomorph, and they spent most of their time simply trying to survive and outwit it, not do battle with it. James Cameron took a completely different approach for Aliens in 1986, bringing back Ripley and teaming her with space marines and putting her in an action film. Fincher’s Alien 3 is bleak and punishing, while Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s and Joss Whedon‘s Alien: Resurrection is manic and comedic. Even when Scott returned to the franchise for Prometheus, he prioritized philosophical inquiry over sci-fi scares and then made Alien: Covenant into a nasty slasher movie with a Frankenstein-story bolted on.
Could Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood spark a similar type of franchise? Certainly, Booth is a compelling enough character, and Pitt plays him with plenty of charm. Moreover, given that The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth takes place in 1977, the year that Star Wars changes everything for Hollywood, it’s not hard to imagine the further further mis-adventures of Cliff Booth, in which the former stunt man tries to make sense of the evolving movie landscape. We just hope a different director takes on each entry, and gives it their own vision.
The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth opens in IMAX on November 25, 2026.