All of Quentin Tarantino’s movies are part of the same universe – except Jackie Brown, which has its own – and here’s how Once Upon a Time in Hollywood fits into it. Tarantino’s film career as the world now knows it began in 1992 with the crime movie Reservoir Dogs and hasn’t stopped ever since, directing a total of 10 films (even if both Kill Bill movies are often counted as one), the latest one being Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Very much like he did with Inglourious Basterds, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood told an alternate version of history, this time set in the 1960s. The story follows actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), as they struggle to remain active and relevant in the final years of Hollywood’s golden age. Their stories are intertwined with that of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and featured many stars from the decade, among those Bruce Lee (Mike Moh).
As mentioned above, all Tarantino movies exist in the same universe, which is divided in two levels: the “realer than real” world, and the movie-in-a-movie one, which are the movies the characters in the first level watch. Characters from one universe can appear in other movies from that same world, and events from one are often referenced in others. So, with that in mind, how does Once Upon a Time in Hollywood fit into Tarantino’s movie universe?
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Is In Tarantino’s Realer-Than-Real Universe
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood exists in the “realer-than-real” world in Tarantino’s shared movie universe, along with Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and True Romance, even if this one wasn’t directed by Tarantino. It’s not surprising, then, that Rick and Cliff’s story has some connections with other Tarantino movies from that same world.
The easiest connection to notice is that of Inglourious Basterds. In the scene from the fictional WWII action movie The 14 Fists of McCluskey, Rick Dalton appears with a flamethrower, burning a bunch of nazis – very similar to the ending of Inglourious Basterds. Given that both movies are in the same world within Tarantino’s movie universe, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that The 14 Fists of McCluskey was inspired by the “real events” in Inglourious Basterds, and Dalton’s scene was a reimagining of how Hitler and company died in the theater.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood also holds a connection with Django Unchained. The set used for Dalton’s TV show Bounty Law is that of the town in Django Unchained where Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) invites Django (Jamie Foxx) to work with him, and just like with Inglourious Basterds, it’s possible that Bounty Law was inspired by the events in Django Unchained – after all, Django and Schultz’s travels surely became the source of many stories. As you can see, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood fits into the Tarantino movie universe beyond just existing in the “realer-than-real” world, acknowledging other events in that world in different ways.
Next: Theory: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Ending Is A Cliff Booth Drug Trip
