Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Is Tarantino's ninth film actually the LAST in a trilogy?

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood had its first teaser released yesterday to a favourable response. The film is the ninth from Quentin Tarantino, who has often said he will only make ten movies in his lifetime. Whether this proves true or not remains to be seen but so far Tarantino has proven himself a maker of pop-culture icons.

Is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood the third in a trilogy?

At the 2013 BAFTAs, Tarantino told Empire: “This rewritten history theme begs a trilogy, it begs to have a third movie on this theme.”

The other films in the revisionist history canon Tarantino referenced were Inglorious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012).

He added: “I haven’t decided about what yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised…”

The aforementioned films took the oppressed and downtrodden characters from history and put them in positions of power.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood could very well be the threequel to this canon.

The film centres around the murder of actress Sharon Tate and the end of the golden era of Hollywood.

Though Charles Manson led his murder-cult towards Tate’s eventual murder, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood could see that history rewritten.

No plot details have been divulged, not even through the short teaser released yesterday.

But many of Sharon Tate’s relatives are still alive, and to make a film capitalising on and sensationalising her murder is distasteful, even by Tarantino’s standards.

Then again, Tarantino initially planned to release the film on the anniversary of the murder.

Perhaps Tarantino will reimagine something to derail Manson’s family from their vicious attack.

Tarantino himself has yet to clarify whether Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is actually the threequel fans have been waiting for.

Many of the characters are based on real-life people, from Bruce Li to Steve McQueen.

Though the film features Tate as a lead character, the plot synopsis so far does not focus in on her or Manson.

Instead, the synopsis reads: “In 1969 Los Angeles, around the same time of Charles Manson murders, a television actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry.”

The actor and stunt double are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt).

The characters are both fictional but based on the real-life Burt Reynolds and stuntman Hal Needham respectively.

When the full-length trailer is released, more may be revealed – but for now, it is all shrouded in mystery.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is out in UK cinemas on August 14, 2019.