Brad Pitt no longer to star in Quentin Tarantino's final film, The Movie Critic because….

Tarantino steps back from long-awaited project set in 1977 California, plans something new instead.

Quentin Tarantino has reportedly decided to 'scrap' his last and final film, 'The Movie Critic,' leaving fans in dismay. Brad Pitt, who was reported to play the titular role, will no longer be delivering his signature deadpan wit on screen. The filmmaker had planned to begin filming his long-awaited project this year but is now stepping back, according to sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter.

Brad Pitt in stills from Se7en, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Moneyball.

Quentin Tarantino's final film ‘scrapped’

On April 17, HR reported that Tarantino had been delaying his final projects for several months now. The film, set in 1977 California, was supposed to be his tenth feature film. However, sources close to him have now said that the auteur is no longer interested in rewriting or reviving the film and is instead planning to bring something new to the table.

Brad Pitt ‘no longer’ to play Cliff Booth

Tarantino was first influenced by a cynical film reviewer he looked up to in his teens for his ultimate project before ‘scrapping it.’ Sources, however, claim that the idea changed to centre on Brad Pitt's role as Cliff Booth, the stuntman he performed in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which brought Pitt an Academy Award. Tarantino has praised Pitt as “one of the last remaining big-screen movie stars.”

Earlier, during the Cannes Film Festival, the director briefly spoke about the film and said, “I can’t tell you guys [anything] until you see the movie. I’m tempted to do some of the character’s monologues right now, but I’m not going to. Maybe if there were less video cameras. You just have to wait and see.”

In addition to Pitt's casting, the project had already received a $20-million tax break from the California state government. It's unclear what changed his mind or what he'll be working on next. When he turned down another R-rated movie in 2019, "Star Trek," he said he wanted to focus on "a smaller group of people" rather than "a mass audience."