Quentin Tarantino Brad Pitt Cliff Booth sequel preview jumps to a new era
A surprise screening at the Chinese Theatre took audiences into a different decade with an unannounced opening sequence.
Quentin Tarantino surprised moviegoers at AFI Fest on Friday by screening an unannounced 17-minute preview of the upcoming sequel “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.” The unexpected showing took place following a screening of “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, as reported by Deadline, TheWrap, Just Jared and The Hollywood Reporter.
During a post-screening conversation moderated by Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley, Tarantino offered the crowd a choice. “Well, I could talk a little bit about ‘The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,’ or I could show you the first 17 minutes,” the filmmaker told the room, according to Deadline and The Express Tribune. IndieWire and TheWrap reported that the audience inside the theater erupted into cheers and applause before the lights dimmed for the footage.
Inside the 1977 prologue
According to reports from TheWrap and Deadline, the opening sequence reveals that the new film takes place in June 1977, eight years after the 1969 timeline of the original movie. The preview establishes Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth managing the New Beverly Cinema, dealing in stolen goods and operating as a fixer across Los Angeles.
Tarantino shared his affection for the stuntman character during the post-screening discussion. “I loved the Cliff Booth character,” he explained, as quoted by The Express Tribune. “I loved the way that Brad played him, and there was this aspect of him as sort of like a paperback hero.”
Addressing the broader narrative style during the Q&A, Tarantino added, “It’s not about a story, the fact that it’s just about this folklore that’s a mix of real things that happened back then and real people and a real industry, and then also this kind of fantastical version that I created,” according to TheWrap and Just Jared.
A reunion for Brad Pitt and David Fincher
While Tarantino conceived and wrote the project, directing duties were handed to David Fincher, AFI Fest program notes and Deadline confirmed. Fincher previously directed Pitt in “Seven” in 1995, “Fight Club” in 1999 and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 2008. Pitt’s original portrayal of Booth earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020.
Alongside Pitt, Netflix and trade reports confirmed an ensemble cast that includes Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Peter Weller.
Release dates and what comes next
Netflix confirmed that “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” is scheduled to premiere in IMAX theaters on November 25, 2026. The film will subsequently begin streaming globally on Netflix on December 23, 2026.
What remains unconfirmed is whether Netflix or the creative team plan to release the 17-minute opening segment online prior to the November theatrical rollout. The full plot beyond the introductory segment shown at AFI Fest also remains under wraps, and it is not yet known whether any additional preview footage or extended cuts will screen publicly before the IMAX debut.
