Quentin Tarantino Stuns AFI Fest Crowd With First 17 Minutes of Cliff Booth Sequel

Quentin Tarantino gave AFI Fest attendees an unexpected first look at The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, screening the sequel’s opening 17 minutes during a special event in Los Angeles on Friday. The filmmaker made the reveal at a Q&A and screening of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the 2019 movie that introduced the character. As the conversation at the TCL Chinese Theatre was winding down, Tarantino was asked about the new film and how it came together. Rather than simply offer another answer, he presented the crowd with a choice: “I could talk a little bit about The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, or I could show you the first 17 minutes.” According to the report, the audience began to realize what he meant as he stood up. The screening marked the first public look at the follow-up. Tarantino wrote the sequel, while David Fincher directed it. Brad Pitt returns as Cliff Booth, the stuntman whose performance in the original film earned him an Academy Award. In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Booth is the longtime friend and sidekick of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release in Imax on November 25 before arriving on Netflix on December 23, according to the report. No additional details about the 17-minute preview were provided, but the surprise gave festivalgoers an early glimpse of the highly anticipated continuation of Booth’s story. Tarantino’s appearance came as part of the festival’s screening and discussion of his earlier film. The report describes the moment as an unexpected reveal at the close of the Q&A, rather than a previously announced public preview. For attendees, the evening shifted from revisiting the 2019 hit to seeing the first footage of its new chapter.