Even before a frame has been shot, Quentin Tarantino‘s "The Hateful Eight" has had quite the life. Announced last year as his next project, it wasn’t long after when an early draft of the script leaked, and he furiously decided to can the movie. But almost just as swiftly, he changed his mind and continued to develop the script, and then earlier this spring, he staged a starry live reading of what he had on the page so far (read our review of the event). And basically, the chatter was that Tarantino was going to ultimately direct "The Hateful Eight," and soon, with Kurt Russell (who participated in the live read) recently suggesting that cameras would roll in early 2015. And while Tarantino didn’t give an exact date, he’s now confirmed this film is next on his slate.
The director was at Comic-Con yesterday at the Dynamite Comic’s panel to talk up his "Django Unchained"/"Zorro" crossover comic (more on that in a sec). But of course, the inevitable "The Hateful Eight" question would be posed, and when asked if the film would be next, Tarantino answered: “Yeah – We’re going to be doing ‘The Hateful Eight.’ ” A cagey response, but a confirmation nonetheless, but the director was most chatty about his comic.
“I loved this idea, not only because I like western comics in general, but I also loved Zorro in all his iterations whether it was the Disney series or the William Witney films. I thought it was a great idea of taking the most famous, fictional Mexican western hero and putting him together with the newer, famous black western hero,” Tarantino stated about the concept that will team up the gunslinger and the masked man, four years before the events in "Django Unchained."
“I don’t want to make a ton of Django movies so this offered me a chance to keep control of the mythology, but to tell different stories,” he added, as well, though we wonder if that means he still wants to do his miniseries version of the movie.
So, more ‘Django’ and "The Hateful Eight" on the horizon, is that it? Nope. Tarantino is always dreaming up new ideas, and it looks like he’s already toying with stepping into a new genre he hasn’t tackled yet. Asked if he would ever take on a sci-fi or fantasy flick, Tarantino said he was very open to the idea. "If you had asked me a few years ago I would have said: ‘Nah, not really, I don’t know.’ But i have a little idea right now. It’s a little flower, you know, like a bean sprout, but those tend to grow into stalks. So this is the first time I’ll be able to say ‘maybe.’ It won’t be a spaceship sci-fi, it’ll be Earthbound," he explained.
Sadly, no more details were wrung out of him about what he’s got brewing, but his answer to the question about whether or not he’d take on an existing franchise, says it all. "A series that I would like to put a spin on is the ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ I want to take it from the pod people’s perspective, so you’re actually rooting for the pod people. I don’t think they’re so bad," he said.
Thoughts? Tarantino shifting gears for sci-fi is definitely an intriguing prospect. Let us know what you think below. [Collider/Deadline/Guardian]