Quentin Tarantino's Western Titled 'Django Unchained'

The word is out on the title and focus of Quentin Tarantino’s next movie. His previously announcedSpaghetti Western homage will be calledDjango Unchained, according to the front page of the script and the film’s distributor, The Weinstein Company.

The leaked page comes from fansiteThe Quentin Tarantino Archivesand Tarantino’s“last draft” completed on April 26. Production is expected to start this summer or fall.

Varietyreports Tarantino“has not yet made any casting decisions,” but the 48-year-old filmmaker has mentioned hisInglourious Basterdsstar Christoph Waltz for the lead. Tarantino“discovered” the Austrian actor for his revisionist WWII epic three years ago and Waltz ultimately garnered supporting actor recognition at the Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and Academy Awards. Franco Nero (of the originalDjango), Keith Carradine and Treat Williams are also expected to officially join the cast soon.

Details on the plot are unconfirmed, but Indiewire’sShadow& Actmay have the synopsis from someone who’s read the script.“Django is a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (Waltz) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself, and after assisting Waltz in taking down some bad guys for profit, is helped by Waltz in tracking down his slave wife and liberating her from an evil plantation owner.” The concept certainly fits with what Tarantino has been publicly saying about his next project, specifically that it deals with“America’s horrible past with slavery.”

The originalDjangocentered on a drifter with a gattling gun and a grudge against a Mexican bandit leader. With a body count totalling 183, the Western gained a reputation for being one of the most violent movies at the time (1966) and spawned at least 31 related sequels.

The ear-related scene in Tarantino’sReservoir Dogsis said to be influenced byDjango, as are scenes in“Cowboy Bebop” and the video game“Red Dead Redemption” and the first name of Jango Fett inStar Wars: Episode II– Attack of the Clones.

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