Leonardo DiCaprio Says No to Cliff Booth Series, Confirming Rick Dalton is Too Rich for Netflix

Ricky Giamatti
Dec 9, 2025
4 min read

Prestige Television Goes Nuclear

Let's just take a moment to absorb the sheer, ridiculous audacity of this project: a streaming series sequel to a Quentin Tarantino film, written by Tarantino himself, starring Brad Pitt, and directed by David Fincher. If prestige television were a nuclear weapon, this would be the mushroom cloud.

The sequel, titled The Adventures of Cliff Booth, is one of the most expensive things Netflix has ever attempted, with a budget reportedly ballooning past $200 million. That kind of money doesn't just buy stars; it buys creative control and the attention of every single living film critic. Brad Pitt is firmly back in the driver’s seat as the laconic, effortlessly cool stunt double, and filming is already underway in California.

But amidst all this cinematic opulence, we have a dramatic confirmation that hits harder than Cliff Booth’s can of dog food: Leonardo DiCaprio will absolutely not be returning as Rick Dalton. The actor confirmed to Deadline that while there were "some talks about it early on," he is definitively "not in it." This news, which had been circling for months, confirms that for all the money, all the prestige, and all the directorial genius involved, the universe’s most loyal partner duo has officially split up for the next chapter.

Tarantino’s Script Meets Fincher’s Eye

The true genius of this project—and the only reason this conversation is happening—is the creative pairing. It’s hard enough to get two titans like Tarantino and Fincher in the same room, let alone attach them to the same project.

Tarantino, the master of dialogue, non-linear structure, and deep-cut pop culture lore, penned the script, ensuring that the Booth sequel maintains the authentic, conversational swagger of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. But handing the reins to Fincher—the genius behind Seven, Zodiac, and The Social Network—is a strategic move that elevates the entire concept. Fincher is a visual perfectionist, a master of mood, and a director whose control over tone is absolute. The idea of him taking the sun-drenched, nostalgic haze of 1969 and transporting it into the grittier, post-hippie decay of 1977, focusing on a character who is essentially a philosophical, violent loner, is genuinely thrilling.

This shift in directors promises a massive tonal contrast, moving from Tarantino's emotional, nostalgic eulogy for Old Hollywood to something potentially darker, more meticulous, and perhaps more structurally challenging—exactly what a $200 million investment needs to justify itself.

Cliff Booth, Alone in '77: A Necessary Pivot

The plot of The Adventures of Cliff Booth jumps eight years after the emotional climax of the 1969 Manson Family scare, landing the story squarely in 1977. This time period is fascinating. It’s the year Star Wars changed cinema forever, the year disco peaked, and a year where the gritty, anti-hero film was peaking.

Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth is the perfect guide for this transition. Rick Dalton was the emotional heart of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—a character defined by insecurity, ego, and the fear of obsolescence. Cliff, however, is pure philosophical simplicity: a man who simply is. He’s loyal, capable, perfectly laconic, and completely at peace with his low rung on the Hollywood ladder. He’s the ultimate anti-hero, which makes him the perfect subject for a David Fincher-directed series about the darker corners of the film industry.

By moving the story to 1977, we are likely seeing Cliff navigating a new, uglier Hollywood landscape, perhaps getting involved in the more complicated and potentially criminal elements of the stunt world. The purity of his partnership with Rick Dalton is gone, forcing him to stand entirely on his own—a necessary separation for the story, even if it hurts the heart of the original film's friendship.

The $3 Million Snub: Why Rick Dalton Stays Home

Now, let’s dive into the reason Rick Dalton won't even pop by for a handshake and a sigh about the good old days. The gossip factory previously suggested that Netflix, knowing the massive fan demand, offered DiCaprio a staggering sum—reportedly $3 million for a single day of shooting—just to ensure a Rick Dalton cameo.

DiCaprio said no.

This isn't a slight against the project; this is Leonardo DiCaprio doing peak Leonardo DiCaprio. He stated he is excited to see the series and praised Fincher, noting he’s "the perfect man for the job." The real reason for the snub is far less dramatic: Leo is simply too rich and too busy winning trophies to deal with one day of nostalgia.

DiCaprio is currently deep in his Oscar campaign for his leading role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest drama, One Battle After Another, a performance for which he is widely expected to receive his seventh Academy Award nomination. You don't interrupt that sacred process—the long, intense march to the gold statue—for a two-minute Netflix cameo, no matter how much the streaming giant begs. His calendar is already booked with prestige, high-stakes films like Martin Scorsese’s What Happens at Night and Michael Mann’s sequel Heat 2. Rick Dalton is simply not in the budget of Leo's career trajectory right now. He only moves for A-list directors and Oscar gold, and a quick series cameo, even with that price tag, is beneath that level of cinematic commitment. It’s a hilarious, self-aware decision that only a star of his magnitude could pull off without being instantly canceled.

New Faces Join the 1977 Crew

While the Rick Dalton absence stings, the sheer volume of talent joining the series confirms that this is less a continuation and more a total creative expansion.

Joining Pitt and the returning Timothy Olyphant (reprising his role as Lancer actor James Stacey) is an incredible ensemble cast, including Scott Caan, the always mesmerizing Elizabeth Debicki, the phenomenal Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, and Holt McCallany. The budget clearly wasn't just spent on Fincher's coffee; it was used to assemble a prestige television cast capable of handling the complicated dialogue and mood that Tarantino's script will demand.

The purity of the creative vision remains: a deep-dive character study of a complicated man in a messy, transitional time in Hollywood history. We may miss Rick Dalton’s charming self-pity, but we are gaining a unique, focused exploration of Cliff Booth’s life and a Fincher-Tarantino collaboration that we never dared to dream of. And that, in the chaotic ecosystem of streaming, is the kind of cinematic miracle worth watching.