The film, which takes place in 1969, will debut on the 50th anniversary of the Manson murders
Quentin Tarantino’s second-to-last-ever film will centre on the dark, trippy events of 1969, with the Manson family murders as the basis for his story. The film is still unnamed but does have a release date – it will open on August 9 2019, on the 50th anniversary of the day the Manson family committed the LaBianca murders and the day after they killed the pregnant Sharon Tate.
While the exact details of the plot have been kept tightly under wraps, the director has confirmed that it is an ensemble film set during 1969, that will involve the murders in some way. It’s the first film that he has released without the Weinstein Company after 25 years of working together. He will be distributing it through Sony following a slew of sexual assault and harassment allegations against the company’s founder Harvey Weinstein.
Fans will be disappointed at having to wait for over a year and a half for the film to be released, but it looks set to be worth the wait – while the cast hasn’t been officially announced, Tarantino has reportedly been in talks with huge actors including Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt to star.
Charles Manson, the leader of the notorious Manson family, died from natural causes last month. He ordered his core “family”, many of whom are dead or are in prison, to murder several people, most famously the heavily pregnant Sharon Tate – a prolific actress, model and wife to director Roman Polanski – and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. On the night of Tate’s murder, Steve Parent, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger were also stabbed or shot to death by the group. The murders, which were an effort by Manson to start a race war, have been mythologised and retold in books, films and podcasts over the years.
While Tarantino won’t be focusing solely on the murders, there’s still the question of how sensitive or appropriate it is to choose to debut the film on the anniversary of events that destroyed several people’s lives.