Nearly 20 years and 5 movies after Quentin Tarantino’sKill Billwowed audiences with its ultraviolent brand of action that blended many cinema genres, the famed director is now on the verge of retiring from filmmaking. With that in mind, and as Tarantino plans his final act behind the camera, many of his fans are wondering, isKill Bill 3happening?
Considering bothKill Billmovies were so successful, and the fact that they’re still seen as some of Tarantino’s most beloved works should make that a no-brainer, nevertheless, Tarantino isn’t really like other directors, and while the idea has never quite left his mind, it’s hard to say if he’ll ever find his way to completing this trilogy. Die-hard fans will probably know Tarantino even has set ideas for what he’d what to explore in this vengeful saga, so what exactly is stopping him?
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What isKill Bill: Volume 1About?
Kill Billis the ultimate revenge story, and yet the film is so much more since with it Tarantino wanted to honor the traditions of old grindhouse cinema, along with many of his favorite genres that influenced his creativity the most,namely samurai and martial arts movies, as well as spaghetti westerns. That said,Kill Billfollows The Bride’s (Uma Thurman) quest to exact revenge upon her former employers, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, led by her former flame Bill (David Carradine) who we first hear -not see- in the opening scene blowing her brains out at the wedding massacre.
Something worth highlighting to understand why bothKill Billmovies work so well is that the two volumes were filmed as a single production, hence why the tone matches so well, regardless of the changes in pace and constant time jumps. Now, while viewers learn the Bride has five names on her list, she only crosses outnow suburban mother Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox)and Yakuza head O-Ren Ishi (Lucy Liu) in this movie.
Theaction inKill Bill isspectacular, with Tarantinoopting for practical effects that, although purposedly cheesy sometimes, have aged perfectly and fit the film like a glove. And if anyone has doubts aboutKill Bill’srange,the film even packs a full anime sequenceto introduce O-Ren Ishi.
What isKill Bill: Volume 2About?
At the end of the first movie, O-Ren Ishi’s protégé Sofie is questioned by Bill and the audience gets a bomb dropped on them when they find out the Bride’s baby survived the wedding massacre, just like her mom. Nevertheless, this time Tarantino shows what really happened in that El Paso chapel, and what kind of life the Bride was trying to carve out.
Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) act as the main enemies here, with the former even capturing and nearly killing the immortal Bride before she comes back from the dead to do away with the latter, Bill’s new favorite blonde.Kill Bill 2slows downas the film is closer to a Western, and the Bride’s martial arts training arc with Pai Mei also proves to be pivotal.
The closing act sees Beatrix Kiddo (the Bride) reach her destination only to find out her 4-year-old daughter B.B. survived and was raised by Bill. She finally confesses how the idea of motherhood led her to defect the Deadly Vipers and ultimately kills Bill in style before driving off into the sunset with her baby.
IsKill Bill 3Happening?
Even though it’s easy to believe that Beatrix’s story arc is finished, the first film’s scene where the Bride kills Vernita Green laid the groundwork for the long-awaited sequel as she offers a horrified young Nikki a shot at revenge in the future for killing her mother. Tarantino was thinking of a sequel early on, but it’s this idea that he’s talked about the most in recent times, saying “just the idea of being able to cast Uma and cast her daughter [Maya Hawke] in the thing would be f***ing exciting.”
Despite Tarantino and Thurman’s relationship becoming fractured at some point due to a car crash that occurred duringKill Bill’sfilming, the pair have since made amends and the director’s muse would be willing to appear in a thirdKill Billmovie, albeit not being the star. However,Thurman herself has said she doesn’t knowif Tarantino will ever makeKill Bill 3, due to his long-standing plan of retiring after completing his tenth movie. Tarantino counts bothKill Billfilms as one, meaning his next production will be number 10, and yet, he has said in recent interviews that his upcoming movie will not be a sequel, all but killing the dreams ofKill Billfans. Of course, Tarantino barely turns 60 in 2023, which makes him relatively young compared to the likes of Martin Scorsese, and it’d be rare for a man of his creative output to simply quit with so much of his life still ahead of him.
It’s safe to sayTarantino’s style has changed sinceKill Billcame out, with him consideringOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodto be his finest work, but regardless of possible retirement in the near future, he has said it’s easier to imagine continuing writing screenplays. Appearing inReal Time with Bill Maherin October 2022,Tarantino confirmed his intention of retiringafter his next film, but he mentioned the movie-making process after penning a screenplay is much more tiresome, thus perhaps leaving the door open to continue expressing his ideas as a writer.
All in all,isKill Bill 3ever happening?It depends, there’s certainly a story to be explored by completing the trilogy with Nikki hunting down the Bride, and the idea of Thurman working on-screen with her daughter is pretty exciting. If Tarantino stays true to his word, then his tenth movie will not beKill Bill 3, but rather something else entirely different and fans’ best bet will be that he still decides to write the screenplay and allow for agood director friend of his like Robert Rodriguezto actually shoot it.
