Quentin Tarantino has officially shelved The Movie Critic, the project once slated to be his tenth and final film, explaining that while he “really liked” the script, the creative spark needed to bring it to life was missing. The concept—following a 1970s film critic writing for a risqué magazine—felt creatively too familiar to his work in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Tarantino ultimately decided against moving into production  Disillusioned with the shortened theatrical windows and the growing dominance of streaming, he also expressed skepticism about the future of movies in their traditional form  Now, rather than rushing toward a final directorial statement, Tarantino is exploring new territory—writing a stage play and mulling over what truly deserves to close his cinematic legacy.