Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Joins ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Sequel ‘Cliff Booth’ At Netflix

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is joining Brad Pitt in the follow-up to Once Upon a TimeIn Hollywood, which is titled The Adventures of Cliff Booth.

Deadline first reported the news that he will be joining previously announced cast members Pitt, Elizabeth Debicki and Scott Caan in the new film written by Tarantino.

It was also previously announced that Quentin Tarantino won’t be in the director’s chair this time; instead, he’s handing over the reins to David Fincher.

Who will Yahya Abdul-Mateen II play in ‘Cliff Booth’?

Rumors are circulating the idea that Mateen might be playing a character similar to NFL star-turned-actor Jim Brown. But it’s still too early to know if that rumor is true, as well as the rumor that the film will focus on Cliff Booth as a Hollywood fixer.

Tarantino’s focus on 1970s Hollywood has always been a part of his filmography, seeing how he’s heavily influenced by Blaxploitation, action and the B-movies of the time. But Once Upon a TimeIn Hollywood serves as his foray directly into the world of the 1970s Hollywood industry, telling stories about the stars and cultural symbols that made up the time.

Whether those stories are completely accurate is another question altogether; director Boots Riley criticized Tarantino for how he characterized Charles Manson and his cult as liberal hippies instead of white supremacists.

Why did Tarantino pass off to Fincher for the sequel?

But as far as this sequel is concerned, Tarantino let Fincher take the director’s chair because Fincher has an exclusive deal with Netflix, which includes Netflix financing the film as well as releasing it on its platform, according to Deadline. Tarantino, who would never direct a streaming project, is still on board as the writer and likely executive producer.

Abdul-Mateen II recently wrapped filming on Elegance Bratton’s By Any Means, and has the Netflix series Man on Fire and Disney+’s Marvel series, Wonder Man.