Quentin Tarantino has been warning fans for years of his intention to step away from the director’s chair after his tenth film – a pledge the Academy Award winner renewed on Tuesday.
The 56-year-old, who is preparing for the theatrical release of his ninth film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” later this month, told GQ Australia he’s at the "end of the road" making movies and plans to follow his other creative interests.
“I think when it comes to theatrical movies, I’ve come to the end of the road,” he said. “I see myself writing books and starting to write theater, so I’ll still be creative. I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies.”
The “Inglourious Basterds” director playfully added that he may step away sooner if “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is “really well-received.”
“Maybe I’ll stop right now! Maybe I’ll stop while I’m ahead,” he said. “We’ll see.”
Brad Pitt, who stars in Tarantino’s latest project, told the outlet that the five-time Oscar winner was “dead serious.”
“No, I don’t think he’s bluffing at all,” Pitt said. “I think he’s dead serious. And I kind of openly lament that to him, but he understands the math of when he feels like directors start falling off their game. But he has other plans and we’re not going to have to say goodbye for a long time.”
Rumors in Hollywood have linked Tarantino to the script for a possible R-rated “Star Trek” film with producer J.J. Abrams, but it’s currently unclear if that could be his self-imposed tenth and final directorial feature film.
"The script has been written and when I emerge my head like Punxsutawney Phil, post-'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,' we'll pick up talking about it again," he told Slash Filmlast month.