6 Fan Theories That Completely Change Quentin Tarantino Movies (2024)

Quentin Tarantino’s movies have made way for some interesting theories, many of which look to solve major mysteries, and there are some that end up completely changing the movies. Quentin Tarantino has become one of the most respected filmmakers of his generation, but he’s also one of the most controversial ones. Tarantino’s works have stood out for his peculiar narrative style and his mastery in writing dialogues, but also for the amount of violence and blood in every movie. Tarantino made his filmmaking debut in 1992 with the crime movie Reservoir Dogs, which has become a classic of independent cinema, but his big break arrived two years later with Pulp Fiction.

Since then, Tarantino has explored different genres and styles in his movies, from Westerns with Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight to martial arts with Kill Bill, slasher with Death Proof, and even alternate versions of history with Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Although Tarantino tells complete stories in his movies, he has left a couple of mysteries and ambiguous moments that viewers have tried to solve with theories, while others have found ways to link two movies through specific details. In many cases, these theories completely change the movies, and here are six examples of this.

6 Pulp Fiction & Reservoir Dogs Are Set On The Same Day

Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are both crime stories, and aside from sharing a couple of actors and some links between some of their characters, their stories aren’t connected – but a theory suggests they take place on the same day. Both movies are set in Los Angeles, with Reservoir Dogs following a group of six thieves after their planned heist of a jewelry store goes terribly wrong, and Pulp Fiction telling four interconnected stories, with hitmen Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega serving as the main characters. Now, the theory suggests Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are set on the same day based on one scene in the latter: Marvin’s death.

In Pulp Fiction, after killing Brett and company at his apartment, Jules and Vincent leave with their informant, Marvin. In the car, Vincent accidentally shoots Marvin in the face, leaving blood everywhere. As they can’t drive around the city in broad daylight with a car covered in blood, Jules asks his friend Jimmie for help and Marsellus sends a cleaner, Winston Wolfe, to help them. The theory says it’s unlikely Jules and Vincent wouldn’t have been stopped by any police car on their way to Jimmie’s home, and the only explanation would be if the police had been too busy attending to other issues… like a jewelry heist.

When the plan failed in Reservoir Dogs, many of the thieves ran away while others met up at the warehouse and others were shot. With six thieves on the run and making a big mess across the city, the LA police surely had their hands full, and wouldn’t have noticed a car with its insides covered in blood. To further support the theory, some viewers have suggested Marsellus’ briefcase contained the stolen diamonds from Reservoir Dogs.

5 Reservoir Dogs’ Mr. Pink Appears In Pulp Fiction

Following the line of possible connections between Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction is the theory that suggests Reservoir Dogs' Mr. Pink appears in Pulp Fiction. Mr. Pink was played by Steve Buscemi, and he didn’t care about his fellow thieves and only cared about the heist and getting the diamonds. Mr. Pink is the only one of the group who wasn’t killed on camera, but his fate was left somewhat ambiguous at the end of Reservoir Dogs, so this theory can go two ways depending on what the reader believes was Mr. Pink’s fate.

If Reservoir Dogs happened first and Mr. Pink was only arrested (and possibly shot but not fatally), Mr. Pink’s life surely wasn’t easy after it. Facing unemployment, Mr. Pink would have had to take a job that would allow him to keep a low profile, and what better than a job as a waiter at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, where he would have to dress up as Buddy Holly. Steve Buscemi has a cameo appearance in Pulp Fiction as the Buddy Holly waiter at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, which made way for this theory.

The other version of the theory says Pulp Fiction happened first, and at one point, either Jack Rabbit Slim’s closed or Mr. Pink was fired. Unable to find another job and with bills piling up, Mr. Pink turned to a life of crime and started working for Joe Cabot. This is also why Mr. Pink didn’t believe in tipping, as he had already gone through the experience of being a waiter, and knew that not everyone tipped and tips didn’t make much of a difference.

4 Pulp Fiction’s Briefcase Contains God

The biggest mystery left by Pulp Fiction is what was inside Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase. Although Tarantino has already said there is no explanation for its contents and it’s simply a MacGuffin, that hasn’t stopped viewers from coming up with theories about what’s inside the briefcase. Among them is one that suggests it contains God, based on what happened to those who came into contact with the briefcase throughout Pulp Fiction. First are Brett and company, who were safe while they had the briefcase, but as soon as they gave it to Jules and Vincent, they were left vulnerable. Vincent took a look inside the briefcase at Brett’s apartment, but he never “accepted” what was inside, and as “those who deny God usually suffer consequences”, bad things happened to Vincent after this, leading to his death.

Vincent benefited from the power of the briefcase when he was with Jules, who accepted its contents unconditionally. The theory goes as far as to say Jules represented “the shepherd”, and by showing the contents of the briefcase to Pumpkin, he saved his and Honey Bunny’s souls, allowing them to leave the diner unharmed and change their lives.

3 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Ending Is Cliff Booth’s Acid Trip

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood took the audience to 1969 Los Angeles to explore an alternate timeline in which actor Rick Dalton and his stuntman and best friend Cliff Booth were targeted by Charles Manson and his followers, with Sharon Tate living a happy and peaceful life. One night, Rick and Cliff went out for drinks to commemorate their time together and went back to Rick’s house, where Cliff took out an LSD-laced cigarette he purchased early. Cliff smoked it and took his dog, Brandy, for a walk while Rick prepared drinks.

Manson’s group entered Rick’s house while Cliff was out, and by the time he returned, he was already high as a kite thanks to the cigarette. Because of this, the theory suggests the rest of the movie was Cliff’s acid trip, which explains why he didn’t notice the car of the attackers on his way back to the house and his somewhat superhuman strength and agility when fighting Manson’s followers. The theory, then, raises the question of whether Manson’s followers really went after Rick and Cliff or if that was part of Cliff’s drug-induced hallucinations.

2 The 3-Finger Gesture Didn’t Give The Basterds Away

Inglourious Basterds follows the separate efforts of Shosanna Dreyfus and the group known as the Basterds to kill as many Nazis as possible, including Hitler. As part of the Basterds’ plans, they joined forces with British officer Lt. Archie Hicox and German actress and spy Bridget von Hammersmark to attack a movie premiere that would be attended by several members of the German high command, including Hitler. The plan didn’t go as expected as the bar where Hicox and the Basterds were going to meet von Hammersmark was full of Nazi soldiers, and though they did their best to keep their cover, Hicox accidentally blew it by using the British hand gesture to order three drinks instead of “the German three”.

However, a theory explains that German officer Major Hellström knew Hicox and the Basterds weren’t real Nazi soldiers from the moment he saw them. According to the author of the theory (via Reddit), Hellström knew a lot more about German cinema than expected and knew Hicox was lying when he mentioned appearing in a Riefenstahl movie. Hellström also claimed to know all officers stationed there (at least those “worth knowing”), and he would have definitely recognized Hugo Stiglitz, as his face was all over the German newspapers. Hellström’s plan, then, was to get everyone at the table drunk to get the upper hand and kill the Basterds, but once Hicox made the wrong three-finger gesture, he had to act fast as that was a hint everyone else at the bar could catch.

1 The Bride Didn’t Kill Bill In Vol. 2

Kill Bill follows The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo, an assassin described as the “deadliest woman in the world”, who is on a revenge mission against her former boss and lover, Bill, after he tried to kill her and her unborn child. Beatrix’s journey was divided into two parts, and she finally fulfilled her mission in the second volume – but a theory suggests she didn’t kill Bill. In Kill Bill: Volume 2, Beatrix found Bill and was shocked to learn her baby survived and he had raised their daughter, B.B. After spending some time with B.B., Beatrix and Bill talked about what happened and engaged in a fight. Beatrix ended the battle by using the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique on Bill, who simply dropped dead in his garden.

The final scenes of Kill Bill: Volume 2 saw B.B. and Beatrix together and starting a new chapter in their lives without Bill, but a theory suggests Beatrix never got what she wanted and never killed Bill. The theory explains Beatrix shifted back to a mother when she saw B.B. at Bill’s place, playing together and pretending to be shot and die. Beatrix, then, didn’t actually use the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique on Bill and it was all act, just like when he was playing with B.B., and there are some details that support this. When Bill asked if Pai Mei taught her that, Beatrix said he did but shook her head, Bill took six steps instead of five as Pai Mei said before dropping to the floor, and at the end of Kill Bill: Volume 2, Beatrix was crying and laughing in the bathroom floor while saying “thank you”, which could have been her thanking Bill for playing along and letting her go with B.B.