There's a new Quentin Tarantino movie heading to theaters this Christmas, and it promises to be just as controversial and violent as the rest of the director's oeuvre. The Hateful Eight is a Western, just like Tarantino's last film, Django Unchained. This has caused some fans to wonder if The Hateful Eight is a sequel to Django . After all, the director wasn't exactly known for making Westerns before, Django was his first, and the 2012 film also happened to be Tarantino's highest-grossing film by a wide margin. So a sequel would kind of make sense, but is The Hateful Eight really just a Django Unchained sequel?
Contrary to the beliefs of some fans, The Hateful Eight is not a sequel to that movie or any. It's a brand new story that also happens to be a Western, so I guess fans can consider these past few years to be Tarantino's "Western Period". Django Unchained told the story of a slave in the American South who's purchased by a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) who agrees to free him and help rescue his wife in exchange for helping him collect bounties. Meanwhile, The Hateful Eight is about an American bounty hunter (Kurt Russell) escorting a condemned woman (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to her hanging when he's caught in a blizzard and forced to seek shelter with another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and five other rough riding strangers, with everyone threatening to turn on each other at any moment. So while the movies are very different, both in story and visually ( The Hateful Eight 's snowy setting is quite unique for a Western), they do share some similarities.
They're Both Westerns
When Tarantino first announced that his Django Unchained follow up would be a Western, he revealed that he was a fan of the genre and now felt more confident in making them after completing his first. It could very well be that Tarantino could continue going to the Old West well for years to come.
They Both Feature Bounty Hunters
Not exactly a common feature in films, the fact that both of these movies' protagonists are people who kill for money definitely led to some of the confusion of their relation to each other.
They Both Star Samuel L. Jackson
Jackson's role in The Hateful Eight is much more front and center as he gets top billing, but the frequent Tarantino collaborator still had an important part to play in Django, where he portrayed a slave owned by Leonardo DiCaprio's villainous Monsieur Candie.
They Both Have Fancy Dressed Foreigners
It's hard not to be reminded of Waltz's character in Django when looking at Tim Roth in The Hateful Eight. The bowler hat, the gray jacket, the vest, the accent — clearly these two were cut from the same cloth.
They're Both Debuting on Christmas Day
Because nothing says "Merry Christmas" like an ultra-violent Western. Django premiered on Christmas Day in 2012, while The Hateful Eight sees its limited release this December 25.
They Have Similar Posters
White background? Check. Dark gray characters? Check. Red font? Check. I know Tarantino likes to collaborate with the same actors a lot, maybe that habit extends to graphic designers, too.
Obviously, these are two different movies, but I can see how the similarities between the two may have led some fans to believe that The Hateful Eight was a sequel to Django Unchained. But now that you know it's not, it's time to start wondering if The Hateful Eight is connected to Adam Sandler's The Ridiculous Six (just kidding).
Images: The Weinstein Company; giphy
