Quentin Tarantino Lands Biggest Acting Role in 30 Years, While Sequel to His Masterpiece Gets Release Window

Quentin Tarantino is best known for his work behind the camera, directing multiple critically acclaimed films and winning two Oscars in the Best Original Screenplay category. However, he’s also done plenty of work in front of the camera, accumulating several acting credits over the course of his career. Many of these have been cameos, but he’s taken more substantial roles at various points as well. Outside of his own films, perhaps his most notable acting performance came in From Dusk Till Dawn, in which he co-starred alongside George Clooney. It’s been a long time since Tarantino portrayed that significant of a character in a film, and now he’s found a new acting challenge for himself.

According to Variety, Tarantino is set to star in the upcoming film Only What We Carry, which actually completed production in late September. Tarantino will appear alongside Simon Pegg, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Sofia Boutella (among others). According to the official synopsis, Only What We Carry follows Julian Johns (Pegg), a “once-formidable instructor whose former student Charlotte Levant (Boutella) returns home to face the ghosts of her past.” Tarantino plays Julian’s friend John Percy.

Only What We Carry isn’t the only Tarantino project to receive a significant update. A separate Variety reporte notes that The Adventures of Cliff Booth, a follow-up to Tarantino’s hit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is targeting a summer 2026 premiere, but no release date has been set. David Fincher is directing Cliff Booth, drawing from Tarantino’s script.

2026 Should Be a Big Year for Quentin Tarantino Fans

Only What We Carry does not have a release date yet, but it conceivably should be ready to debut next year. Per Variety, the shoot lasted all of six days in France, meaning director Jamie Adams has finished principal photography. It’s unknown how long post-production will last, but it seems likely it will come out at some point in 2026 — perhaps at a film festival to generate buzz ahead of a general release to the public.

While it will be interesting to see Tarantino flex his acting muscles again decades after From Dusk Till Dawn, The Adventures of Cliff Booth is the 2026 Tarantino project that will receive the most attention. Tarantino could find himself in the Oscar race again, this time for Best Adapted Screenplay. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was one of the most beloved titles in a stacked 2019 Best Picture lineup, receiving nominations across the board (including another Best Original Screenplay nod for Tarantino). It’s obviously much too early to tell how next year’s Oscar race will shape up, but the pedigree behind Cliff Booth is an encouraging sign for the project’s potential quality. Fincher is a multi-time nominee himself and has an overdue narrative Netflix could play up during an awards campaign.

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Tarantino fans will also be hoping to learn news about his next directorial effort next year. Tarantino has made it clear he intends to retire from directing after he makes his next film, which will be his 10th. At one point, he was developing a project called The Movie Critic to be his swan song, but he ultimately scrapped the concept since he felt it would be too similar to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino has also said he wants to wait to make his last film until his son is old enough to have memories of what it was like to be on set, turning the experience into an emotional family affair. Tarantino’s final outing probably won’t hit theaters any time soon, but maybe he will reveal the basic premise of what he has in mind.

Though Only What We Carry isn’t as high-profile as The Adventures of Cliff Booth, it should still be worth seeking out. Adams admittedly has a mixed track record as a filmmaker (a few of his directorial efforts have rotten scores on Rotten Tomatoes), the cast he’s assembled for his latest features a lot of big names, indicating there’s something special about the project. Plus, Tarantino will be acting with Star Trek actors, which will surely grab fans’ attention. Tarantino was considering making a Star Trek movie at one point, so perhaps being in the same room as Pegg will inspire discussions that revive the project in some capacity.

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