Could Quentin Tarantino’s Next Directing Gig Be an Episode of “Justified”?

It's not as strange as it sounds

Director Quentin Tarantino at Rome Film Fest 2021. Deadline reported that Tarantino is in talks to direct an episode or two of the episodes of the follow-up to the TV show Justified.
Director Quentin Tarantino at Rome Film Fest 2021.
Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty

Quentin Tarantino has long said that his tenth film will also be his last. Given that he’s directed nine movies to date, that statement has taken on a great deal more urgency. (We’re not quite sure how his unmade Star Trek movie would have fit into all of this.) A recent piece of news featuring Tarantino offered an interesting loophole to his previous comments: just because he says he has one more film in him doesn’t necessarily mean that’s all he’ll direct.

Earlier this year, FX announced that Timothy Olyphant would reprise his role as Raylan Givens in a follow-up to the series Justified. Like that show, this new limited series would be based on the works of Elmore Leonard — specifically, his novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit.

That’s certainly exciting news for fans of Justified, Timothy Olyphant and quality television in general. The latest piece of news surrounding the series is even more intriguing: Deadline has reported that Tarantino is in talks to direct part of the project — specifically, one or two episodes.

If this comes to fruition, it wouldn’t be Tarantino’s first involvement in an Elmore Leonard adaptation. (That would be Jackie Brown.) And it wouldn’t be his first time working with Olyphant. (That would be Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.) Tarantino has made forays into television before — including following up Pulp Fiction with an episode of ER in 1995. All told, it could add one more layer of reunions onto an already highly anticipated television event.

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