The cast forQuentin Tarantino’s new filmOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodjust keeps growing, even as filming has been underway for weeks. To be fair, this film has a giant ensemble so adding bit players to do a scene here and there isn’t difficult to do during production—but one major role has now been filled: that of filmmakerRoman Polanski. Indeed, when it was first announced that Tarantino was moving ahead on a new movie, the initial reported plot details were that it was a film revolving around the Manson Murders. That turned out to be a bit inaccurate, as it soon became clear thatOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodis about Charles Manson the way thatInglourious Basterdsis aboutAdolf Hitler—that is to say, the figure appears in the film, but isn’t a main character.
The story ofOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodtakes place in 1969 and follows a fading Western TV star (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double (Brad Pitt) who wonder where their place in Hollywood is at the turn of the decade. Additionally, DiCaprio’s character lives next door to Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who of course was brutally murdered by Manson’s followers.
A major question arose, then, as to whether Tarantino would also be including Roman Polanski as a character in the film. We now know for sure that he is, andTHRreports that Polanski will be played by Polish actorRafal Zawierucha, who’s pretty much an unknown here in the States.
It’s unclear how much screentime will be given to Polanski, and we still don’t know for certain if Charles Manson is in the film and who’s playing him. THR says thatDanny Strong,Sydney Sweeney,Clu Gulager,James Landry Hébert, andMikey Madisonhave also now been added to the massive ensemble, but for those worried this thing is going to be overstuffed, it sounds very much like this will be anInherent Vice-like situation. The film has already been described asPulp Fiction-esque in structure and scope, so while there area lotof people in this movie, it sounds like Tarantino is filling out every single role with a known performer, even if the role only has a couple of lines. Which is pretty perfect considering this is a movie about Hollywood.
Production continues and we still have a ways to wait until the film’s July 31, 2025 release date, but I wonder if Tarantino is aiming for a Cannes Film Festival debut in May as he’s done with some of his previous films. If that’s the case, we may get our first reactions to the film earlier than expected.
The announced ensemble forOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodnow also includesLena Dunham,Maya Hawke,Timothy Olyphant,Burt Reynolds,Damian Lewis,Luke Perry,Dakota Fanning,James Marsden,Clifton Collins,Keith Jefferson,Emile Hirsch,Tim Roth,Michael Madsen,Scoot McNairy,Al Pacino,andNicholas Hammond, among others.
