Fans have been patiently waiting to see what filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s next move will be. His 2009 effort Inglourious Basterds was loved by critics and audiences alike, with many singling out a standout performance from Christoph Waltz, who had a series of high-profile Best Supporting wins — including an Academy Awards — during the subsequent awards season. Waltz has been rumored to be playing some kind of role in Tarantino’s next film, which is said to be a Western. Now that Western has a title, and it’s one that going to make fans of the genre leap for joy: Django Unchained.
The information comes from a photo of a script title page, snapped (or at least posted on the Internet) by Twitter user @AgentTrainee. Those who are familiar with Tarantino’s crude handwriting should be left with little doubt about the authenticity of the image. The title page also notes that this is a recent draft we’re seeing, dated April 26, 2011.
It had previously been hinted that Tarantino’s next film would be a Western. The title is a reference to Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 Spaghetti Western Django, which starred Franco Nero in the title role. Nero himself said in an interview last year that he’s working on a Spaghetti Western with Tarantino. Shortly after, AICN confirmed the genre through its own sources, as well as Waltz’s involvement as “one of the stars.”
The 1966 Corbucci original is considered a classic among fans of Spaghetti Westerns. It is violent and bloody, and the text is filled with elements that very (very) clearly informed the work of some of today’s most notable filmmakers, including Robert Rodriguez and Tarantino himself. Nero will presumably be reviving his Django role, though whether this is some sort of distant-future sequel or an “adaptation” more akin to Inglourious (which was an adaptation in name only) remains to be seen.
