Quentin Tarantino’s career as a writer and director is one of those instances where the projects that haven't gotten made are nearly as intriguing as what did make it onto the big screen. In recent years, Tarantino’s Star Trek “gangster movie” is the one that’s gotten the most attention, as it went from a potential upcoming movie to a script sitting on a shelf. That’s now changed, as comedian/writer Jerrod Carmichael has told some new stories about working on the once-teased Django Unchained/Zorro crossover that ultimately never came to be.
Carmichael fleshed out the story of his time working with Quentin Tarantino on the potential sequel in a recent interview. Telling stories about hanging out at parties with the Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood writer/director, some wild tales came up. Divulging details of this time in his life, Jerrod Carmichael laid out the following to GQ:
Quentin's a lunatic who I love, and I'm happy that I got to spend the time. We saw exploitation flicks at the New Beverly, he read me scenes that never made it to his movies, that he had typed out, in his kitchen after making fresh-squeezed lemonade for me. It was really special. It's actually an incredible, incredible script that came in from that Django/Zorro that I would love for Sony to figure out, but I realize the impossibility of it. But I still think we wrote a $500 million film.
It’s pretty much assured at this point that if you work with Quentin, you’re going to get some amazing experiences whether or not your movie goes into production. Writer Mark L. Smith provided further proof to that point, as his work co-writing the Star Trek script we mentioned previously saw Tarantino acting out gangster scenes as a result.
After Jerrod Carmichael's new round of hyping of Django/Zorro's script through such stories, fans are probably more curious than ever about what could have been. Especially as the comedian has labeled this concept as a "$500 million film," and even The Mask of Zorro's Antonio Banderas was sold after being pitched by Tarantino himself.
At this point, it’s highly unlikely that Quentin Tarantino will make any sequel to his hit film Django Unchained. With his tenth and final film reportedly looming, the auteur’s retirement could result in one of three movies Tarantino still wants to make. None of the projects mentioned involve Django/Zorro, and even Jerrod Carmichael’s enthusiasm seems to indicate that the ball is in Sony’s court for any potential movement.
Still, it’s not like the writer/director of The Hateful Eight is against others filming his scripts. Quentin Tarantino even said as much when he said he wouldn’t direct his Star Trek pitch. Perhaps with a willing studio, the right director, and Jerrod Carmichael’s continued involvement, Django/Zorro might ride into theaters. In which case, let’s hope the Antonio Banderas variant of the legendary swordsman still teams up with Jamie Foxx’s vengeful bounty hunter!
The next project fans should expect from Quentin Tarantino is his cinematic history/memoir book Cinema Speculation, which is set to be released on November 1st. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for where to stream Jerrod Carmichael’s work, that information is readily available at your leisure.
