On February 8, 2026, right in the heart of the Super Bowl’s commercial frenzy, Netflix unleashed a surprise that sent film fans into a frenzy: the first teaser trailer for The Adventures of Cliff Booth. The moment marked a striking bit of cinematic symmetry—57 years to the day after the fictional Cliff Booth and Rick Dalton sat down at Musso’s bar in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (a detail that Deadline playfully highlighted). This time, though, the event was very real—and the buzz was immediate.
Brad Pitt returns to the role that won him an Oscar, stepping back into the shoes (and battered knees) of Cliff Booth, the laid-back stuntman whose cool demeanor and knack for violence made him an instant icon in Tarantino’s 2019 film. But this new chapter, directed by David Fincher and written by Tarantino himself, isn’t just a rehash of old glories. According to Variety, the film picks up in the 1970s, eight years after the bloody, reality-bending climax of the original, with Booth now transitioning from stuntman to Hollywood fixer.
The teaser, which aired during Super Bowl 60, was a masterclass in attitude and nostalgia. Set to the unmistakable twang of the Peter Gunn theme and other retro beats, the quick-cut montage showed Booth icing his knee and shoulder, chatting with a new character played by Elizabeth Debicki, and—true to form—sidestepping questions about his violent past. As Deadline described, Debicki’s character presses Booth for details about the infamous night when he and Rick Dalton “subdued the hippie intruders” (a nod to the Manson family plotline), but Booth remains tight-lipped. The implication is clear: some stories are better left untold.
What follows is a whirlwind of vintage Hollywood imagery and pulpy intrigue. There’s Booth and Debicki’s character striding shoulder-to-shoulder between soundstages, Carla Gugino lounging in a Malibu beach house, Asian gangsters hefting a sledgehammer, Booth slipping into a projection booth, a blaxploitation flick flickering onscreen, and a demolition derby that looks straight out of a grindhouse double feature. The exterior of the iconic Big Kahuna Burger even makes a cameo, a sly wink for Tarantino diehards.
Yet, for all its bravado, the teaser is just as notable for what it leaves out. In a cheeky jab at TV standards and streaming censors, every cigarette, alcoholic drink, flash of nudity, and curse word is crudely scratched out on the screen. As Deadline and other outlets noted, the effect is both a nod to old-school censorship and a playful middle finger to the powers that be. There’s even a shot of Cliff placing an Oscar on his desk—a not-so-subtle reference to Pitt’s real-life win for the same role.
While the plot remains tightly under wraps, the film’s DNA is unmistakable. It draws inspiration from Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: A Novel, which expands on Booth’s backstory and includes a deadly showdown with mobster henchmen. But this time, Tarantino handed off directing duties to Fincher, explaining on The Church of Tarantino podcast, “I love this script, but I’m still walking down the same ground I’ve already walked. This last movie, I’ve got to not know what I’m doing again. I’ve got to be in uncharted territory.”
Fincher’s involvement is no small thing. With a long history at Netflix—think Mindhunter, The Killer, and Mank—his precise, moody style promises a fascinating counterpoint to Tarantino’s freewheeling storytelling. Erik Messerschmidt, a frequent Fincher collaborator, serves as director of photography, ensuring the film’s look will be as sharp as its attitude. Filming took place on location in Los Angeles, grounding the sequel in the city that’s always been its spiritual home.
The cast is stacked. Alongside Pitt and Debicki, the film features Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Scott Caan, Karren Karagulian, Carla Gugino, Holt McCallany, and JB Tadena. Timothy Olyphant reprises his role as James Stacy, a familiar face from the original film. Notably absent is Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton; as Variety and other sources confirmed, Dalton isn’t expected to return, leaving Booth to chart his own path through the seedy, glamorous world of 1970s Hollywood.
The teaser doesn’t reveal much about the story, and that’s by design. As The Playlist and others observed, it’s all about mood—swagger, danger, and the sense that Booth is still a man with secrets and scars. The focus shifts squarely onto Booth, now a fixer navigating the underbelly of the industry, rather than the fading star he once served. The absence of Dalton, while a loss for fans of the original duo, opens up new territory for Booth’s character to explore.
Behind the scenes, Tarantino remains involved as a producer alongside Pitt, David Heyman, Ceán Chaffin, and Stacey Sher. The film’s release date remains a mystery, with Netflix’s teaser offering only a tantalizing “Coming Soon.” Still, speculation is rampant that the film could drop in summer 2026, and many believe that, given Tarantino’s involvement, a limited theatrical run might be in the cards before it hits streaming.
The original Once Upon a Time in Hollywood famously rewrote history, with Booth and Dalton foiling the Manson family’s murderous plans in 1969. This sequel picks up the thread, but with the calendar flipped to the 1970s. The era promises new challenges, new villains, and a Hollywood in the throes of change—ripe territory for a fixer with Booth’s particular skill set.
For Netflix, the project is a coup. The streamer has invested heavily in prestige filmmaking, and the pairing of Pitt, Fincher, and Tarantino is a dream team by any measure. As The Playlist put it, “Netflix might have a seriously cool throwback hit on its hands when The Adventures of Cliff Booth finally arrives.”
For now, fans will have to content themselves with the teaser’s flashes of attitude, violence, and vintage cool. The details may be scarce, but the promise is clear: Cliff Booth’s adventures are far from over, and Hollywood’s dark corners are about to get a little brighter—and a lot more dangerous.
With the Super Bowl spotlight and a creative team stacked with talent, Netflix has set the stage for one of 2026’s most anticipated films. Viewers are left with a single, tantalizing message: stay tuned, because Cliff Booth is back, and he’s got unfinished business in Tinseltown.