Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Quentin Tarantino movie theory suggests Leonardo DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton in Django Unchained

It completely changes the way you watch the film

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 15 July 2021 15:14 EDT
Comments
DiCaprio slams hand down in Django Unchained scene

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A meta theory suggests that Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained is actually a film within a film.

A few Reddit users have previously wondered whether the 2012 western film, starring Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz, is actually a film that was made and released in the same world as the director’s most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which is available to stream on Netflix.

This would mean that, in the world of the film, villainous character Calvin Candie is not actually played by Leonardo DiCaprio, but the actor’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood character Rick Dalton.

The theory suggests that Django Unchained would have been another release to star Dalton alongside his other film and television projects, including Lancer, Operazione Dyn-o-mite! and The Fourteen Fists of McCluskey.

In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Dalton plays the villain in Lancer, who actually has some similarities to Candie, so it’s no stretch to assume Dalton could have been cast in that role.

The theory states: “We have no clue as of today what happened to Dalton after Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino said that after 1969 he was a pretty big name.”

Is Calvin Candie a character played by ‘Once Upon a Tim in Hollywood’s Rick Dalton?
Is Calvin Candie a character played by ‘Once Upon a Tim in Hollywood’s Rick Dalton? (Columbia Pictures)

In 2019, it was announced that Tarantino was developing a sequel to Django Unchained.

The project will be an adaptation of a comic book miniseries he wrote that shows what Jamie Foxx’s lead character got up to years after events seen in the 2012 film.

Earlier this month, Tarantino released a novelisation of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, featuring Dalton and Brad Pitt’s stuntman character, Cliff Booth.

Find our ranking of the director's 20 greatest characters here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in