Over the course of his career, Quentin Tarantino has talked about doing a lot of movies that never ended up getting made, and one of the classics is his idea for a Vega Brothers film. The idea stemmed from the fact that Michael Madsen and John Travolta's respective characters in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction share the same last name, and the "spin-off" film would have established them as brothers and paired them together for their own special adventure.
Of course, when this idea was first revealed fans were quick to point out a big flaw: both Vic and Vincent Vega die before the closing credits of their movies. At the time, the immediate solution was that the film could be a prequel, set before the events of both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction – but the project encountered another issue as time passed and both Michael Madsen and John Travolta grew older. Still, Quentin Tarantino has long said that he has a solution for this issue as well... and now it seems that Madsen has spilled the beans.
The actor best known for slicing off ears and dancing to "Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel has been in headlines recently thanks to a viral video he made with his family while stuck in quarantine, and while talking to The Hollywood Reporter about it he revealed how the Vega Brothers movie could have/could still work decades after the release of Quentin Tarantino's first two films:
[Quentin Tarantino] had come up with this idea that it would be the twin brothers of Vic and Vincent, who met after the deaths of their siblings. It was very complicated, but when Quentin starts discussing an idea, it's very easy to go along with it.
That's right: rather than reprising their roles as Vic and Vincent Vega in the Vega Brothers movie, Michael Madsen and John Travolta would have instead played wholly new siblings in the Vega clan, and the twin brothers of the gangster characters who were killed in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Mind. Blown.
Per Michael Madsen, the prequel story would have been predominantly set in The Netherlands, and would have seen his character and John Travolta separately but simultaneously being released from incarceration. It's not clear if this idea would have carried over to the non-prequel version of The Vega Brothers, but it's interesting all the same. Said Madsen,
We were supposed to be in Amsterdam, criminally. The picture was going to start out with the two of us being released from prison in different states. And we open up a club in Amsterdam.
What's extra amazing about this idea is that it really is an angle that can still potentially work – meaning that Quentin Tarantino can continue teasing it forever. Obviously he would have to nix the "meet up after the death of their siblings" part, as that probably would have happened 26 years ago at this point, but I'm pretty sure there isn't a single Tarantino fan in the world who wouldn't want to see The Vega Brothers still get made.
This naturally leads to the question "What is Quentin Tarantino doing next?" but unfortunately there is not answer at present. The filmmaker has talked up the movie as potentially being his last feature, but he has not yet committed to an idea. No matter what he chooses, however, it will instantly have our attention, so be on the look for updates in the coming days, weeks, months and years on that front.
