Brad Pitt Returns as Cliff Booth in New Fincher Movie Trailer

Brad Pitt is returning to one of his most recognisable recent characters with The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, a new film set in the world of Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Netflix has released the official trailer for the film, giving audiences their first extended look at Pitt's return as Cliff Booth. This time, however, the character is no longer simply working as a Hollywood stuntman.

Directed by David Fincher and written by Quentin Tarantino, the film moves the story forward to 1977 Los Angeles, eight years after the events of the original movie. 

Watch the Official Trailer

The trailer immediately establishes that this is a very different Hollywood from the one audiences saw in the 2019 film.

Cliff Booth is older, more experienced and operating in a city filled with celebrities, crime, violence and people who need someone capable of solving difficult problems.

Netflix describes the film as taking place in a very different Hollywood in 1977, with Pitt returning to the character at the centre of the story. 

Cliff Booth Has a New Job

One of the biggest changes in the new film is Cliff's profession.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he was primarily known as stuntman and stunt double for television actor Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

By 1977, Cliff has moved into a different line of work.

He is now described as a Hollywood studio fixer, taking on unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs for powerful people in the entertainment industry. 

That new role gives the character a completely different environment while preserving the personality that audiences remember from Tarantino's original film.

The Story Moves Eight Years Forward

The original Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was set in 1969 Los Angeles.

The new movie jumps forward eight years to 1977.

That period was a very different era for Hollywood, with the entertainment industry undergoing major cultural and commercial changes.

The trailer uses the period setting heavily, from Cliff's appearance and cars to the locations, music and overall visual design. 

The result is a version of Los Angeles that feels darker and more dangerous than the world presented in the first movie.

David Fincher Takes Over the Director's Chair

Perhaps the biggest creative change is behind the camera.

David Fincher directs the film from a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino.

Tarantino directed the original Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but he decided not to direct the new project himself.

Fincher brings a very different filmmaking identity to the story, having directed films including Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network and Gone Girl.

The project also reunites Fincher and Brad Pitt. The two previously worked together on Se7en, Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Quentin Tarantino Still Controls the Story

Although Tarantino is not directing, he remains central to the project.

The screenplay comes from Tarantino, and he is also among the producers.

The new film therefore continues his interpretation of Cliff Booth while placing the character inside Fincher's filmmaking style.

Tarantino previously explained that he was excited about Fincher adapting his work, describing the director's involvement as a serious approach to the material. 

What Happened to Rick Dalton?

One of the biggest questions for fans of the original film is the absence of Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton.

DiCaprio does not return for the new movie.

The trailer does, however, address what happened to the professional relationship between Rick and Cliff.

When Elizabeth Debicki's character asks Cliff why he stopped working as Dalton's stunt double, Cliff gives a typically blunt answer about Rick having become too heavy for him to double.

The exchange provides a direct link between the two films without requiring Rick Dalton to be part of the new story.

New Cast Joins Brad Pitt

The film introduces a new group of characters around Cliff Booth.

The cast includes Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Holt McCallany and Peter Weller, alongside returning actor Timothy Olyphant. 

Scott Caan plays television star Charlie Peters, while Elizabeth Debicki plays his agent, Karen Crosby.

Carla Gugino plays Charlie's wife Toni, while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II appears as former football player-turned-actor Roderick “Hot Rod” Harrison.

The trailer suggests that Cliff becomes involved with these characters as the story moves into increasingly dangerous territory.

From Stuntman to Hollywood Fixer

The new career path is important because it allows the movie to explore a different side of Cliff.

As a stuntman, Cliff was usually working behind the scenes.

As a fixer, he is now dealing directly with Hollywood's more complicated characters.

The trailer teases crime, violence, gangsters, movie stars and chaotic situations, suggesting that the film will combine the entertainment-industry satire of the original with a darker crime-story element.

Brad Pitt Gets a Major 1970s Makeover

Pitt also looks noticeably different as the older Cliff Booth.

The character now has longer, shaggy hair and a prominent 1970s-style moustache, giving him a very different appearance from the character audiences saw in 2019.

The new look fits the period setting and signals that considerable time has passed since the original story. 

It also gives Pitt a more rugged, lived-in appearance that matches the character's new career and circumstances.

The Film Will Get an IMAX Release

Netflix is giving the film an unusual theatrical rollout.

The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth will receive a limited IMAX theatrical release beginning November 25, 2026, before arriving on Netflix on December 23, 2026. 

The film is notable for being Netflix's first movie to receive an IMAX theatrical release of this kind, according to TheWrap. 

That theatrical strategy gives fans an opportunity to see the film on a large-format screen before its streaming debut.

A Different Kind of Hollywood Story

The original Once Upon a Time in Hollywood focused heavily on the relationship between Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth against the backdrop of 1969 Hollywood.

The new film appears to be more directly focused on Cliff himself.

Without Rick Dalton beside him, Cliff becomes the central figure navigating a changing entertainment industry.

The trailer suggests that his reputation, physical ability and unconventional problem-solving skills continue to make him useful — even as the world around him becomes increasingly complicated.

Why This Trailer Is Getting Attention

The combination of names attached to this film makes it unusual.

It brings together:

• Brad Pitt returning as Cliff Booth
• Quentin Tarantino writing the screenplay
• David Fincher directing
• A continuation of the world created by Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• A 1970s Hollywood setting
• A major supporting cast
• An IMAX theatrical release before Netflix

It is also the first time Fincher has directed a screenplay written by Tarantino, creating an interesting combination of two filmmakers with very distinctive styles.

Is It a Direct Sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?

The film continues the story of Cliff Booth, but its relationship to the original movie is somewhat different from a traditional sequel.

Tarantino has described the project as an episode centred on the character rather than simply a conventional continuation of the original film.

The story moves forward several years and creates a new set of circumstances around Cliff.

That allows the movie to work as a continuation of the character while establishing its own narrative identity.

Final Thoughts

The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth brings Brad Pitt back to one of his most memorable characters, but the new film is clearly taking Cliff into unfamiliar territory.

The move from stuntman to Hollywood fixer, the jump to 1977 Los Angeles, the absence of Rick Dalton and the addition of David Fincher as director all give the project a noticeably different identity.

At the same time, Quentin Tarantino remains involved as the writer, ensuring that the character's original foundation remains connected to the new story.

The film will first reach IMAX theatres on November 25, 2026, before arriving on Netflix on December 23. 

For fans of Brad Pitt, Tarantino's Hollywood universe or Fincher's darker filmmaking style, the trailer has introduced one of the more unusual Hollywood releases of the 2026 movie calendar.