Quentin Tarantino Teams Django with Zorro in Django/Zorro Comic
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Definitely didn't see this coming when I first saw new Zorro comics on the shelf. Or ever. After a successful comic book adaptation of his film Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino will be co-plotting a crossover series that will throw Django, ancestor of John Shaft, up against classic pulp hero Zorro. An artist has not yet been announced, but writing the series along with Tarantino will be Matt Wagner, who has been on and off writing for Dynamite's Zorro since 2008, with Reggie Hudlin editing. Tarantino had this to say for the announcement:
I’m very very excited about both this story and the opportunity to work with Matt. It was reading his Zorro stories that convinced me what a good idea it was to join these two icons together. And the story idea we came up with is thrilling, and I think will be an exciting new chapter for both characters.
I actually couldn't think of a better Western character to fit with Django in such a left-field crossover. Zorro's always been very much a man of the people, helping the downtrodden, so it makes a lot of sense that he might run in similar circles to Django, who I hope is just going around the Wild West shooting slave owners and smoking cigars. If this goes over well, I'm also going to be the first to hope that comics will be the medium Quentin Tarantino uses to finally tell his Vega Brothers prequel story, or at least the Kill Bill sequel he's talked about that's probably never going to happen.
[via Comics Alliance]
Quentin Tarantino Plans to Release Four-Hour Cut of Django Unchained as TV Miniseries
Quentin Tarantino is a man of ideas, sometimes too many ideas. After shooting 2012's Django Unchained, Tarantino was left with over 90 minutes of unused footage that hasn't been seen. Rather than simply include them in a special Director's Cut release of Django Unchained, the famed director has his sight set on something much more ambitious. During a press conference to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pulp Fiction's debut at the Cannes Film Festival, Tarantino had this to say about the extra Django Unchained footage:
I have about 90 minutes worth of material with Django. It hasn’t been seen. My idea, frankly, is to cut together a four-hour version of Django Unchained. But I wouldn’t show it like a four hour movie. I would cut it up into hour chapters. Like a four-part mini-series. And show it on cable television. Show it like an hour at a time, each chapter [...] We’d use all the material I have and it wouldn’t be an endurance test. It would be a mini-series. And people love those. People roll their eyes at a four-hour movie. But a four-hour mini-series that they like, then they are dying to watch all four parts. That’s how I thought it could work.
It's a sound idea as it allows Tarantino to explore another medium that would better fit his vision. Depending on how successful the miniseries does, he'd probably double dip and release it in a box set complete with some extra special goodies. Furthermore, it could potentially keep the door open for a home media release of the full Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. Considering Tarantino's friendship with fellow director Robert Rodriguez, we could probably see the Django Unchained miniseries on the latter's El Rey Network.
[via /Film]