Key Takeaways:
– Quentin Tarantino originally planned Inglorious Basterds as a trilogy, with Django Unchained and another film as its sequels.
– There were plans for a spinoff movie, titled ‘Killer Crow,’ based on a section of the original Inglorious Basterds script.
– The envisioned segment focused on African-American soldiers going on a mission in Germany but was cut for time.
– Tarantino didn’t intend to revise history with Inglorious Basterds, but he followed the characters’ natural path.
– The ‘Killer Crow’ idea remains on hold, and if completed, it would finalize the trilogy of Tarantino’s historical films.
Maverick director Quentin Tarantino, renowned for his unique style of filmmaking, had initially drafted a different plot for Inglourious Basterds, one of his most applauded works.
The Original Vision for Inglorious Basterds
Tarantino, best known for his movies like Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and the Kill Bill franchise, created a sensation in 2008 with his war action film, Inglorious Basterds. This film featured Brad Pitt as Aldo the Apache, who, along with a team of mercenaries, infiltrates Nazi Germany. With a star-studded cast including Michael Fassbender, Daniel Brühl, and Mélanie Laurent, the film ideally commenced Tarantino’s journey of creating revisionist history pieces.
The Spinoff That Never Was: Killer Crow
Initially, the filmmaker intended Inglourious Basterds to be the first film in a trilogy of revisionist historical films, with Django Unchained as one of the sequels. Tarantino had reportedly penned a portion in the original script about a team of African-American soldiers on a mission in Germany. However, due to time constraints during the film’s production, this segment was cut. This deleted segment sparked an idea for Tarantino, inspiring a potential spinoff film titled ‘Killer Crow.’ Tarantino, in an interview with The Root, explained that Killer Crow’s storyline would essentially follow black troops who had not been treated fairly by the American military, driving them to embark on an ‘Apache warpath’ against white soldiers and officers based in Germany.
Revising History Was Unplanned
One of Inglourious Basterds’ surprise elements was its climax, a fiery twist rewriting history. Instead of following the course of actual historical events, Tarantino had the audacity to portray Adolf Hitler’s death in a cinema during a shootout, the handiwork of the Basterds. Quite drastically opposed to real historiography, this unexpected turn of events was more a creative whim than a premeditated move. While discussing his creative process with RT, Tarantino confessed that he never intended to rewrite history but followed the characters wherever their journey naturally led.
Despite never being imprisoned by scriptwriting norms, Tarantino thought historical events could set limits to his characters. But realizing the potential of unfettered narration, he decided to let his characters go their own way, resulting in the innovative narrative of Inglorious Basterds.
On the journey of creativity, sometimes great ideas can take unexpected turns and sometimes remain unfulfilled. Though ‘Killer Crow’ stays unrealized for now, if it ever sees the light, it would elegantly wrap up Quentin Tarantino’s envisioned trilogy of historical films.
