One of the most common, and frankly annoying, trends in entertainment reporting is the silly question that reporters ask actors about who they’d like to play in [Insert Relevant Franchise]? Then the headline reads “[Insert hot up-and-comer] Wants To Play [Fan-Favorite Character] In [Your Favorite Franchise].” All that amounts to is just a bit of fantasy casting and a cheap headline.
That being said, one of those fantasy films that’s been mentioned twice in the last week or so is “Kill Bill Vol. 3.” The ‘Kill Bill’ films from writer-director Quentin Tarantino have been consistently some of the fans’ favorites from his filmography. And now, it appears that two actresses are putting the feelers out there for a possible threequel for the franchise. But let’s be real, no matter what these ladies have to say, it’s highly unlikely QT is coming back for a third ‘Kill Bill.’
The first actress to attempt to will “Kill Bill Vol. 3” into existence is Ronda Rousey. The former-MMA star and current WWE personality says that she’d love to work with Tarantino and knows exactly what role she’d want. She told TMZ she’d like to play a “grown-up B.B.”
This was followed recently by “The Darkest Minds” star Amandla Stenberg saying that her dream role, via Cine Pop, is to star in ‘Kill Bill 3.’ She said, “I would like to play the daughter of Vivica A. Fox in ‘Kill Bill – Vol 3.’”
Funny that Stenberg should say that, as Tarantino revealed in 2004 that his idea of a threequel to finish the trilogy would involve Fox’s kid, aka Nikki. He said to EW, “The star will be Vernita Green’s [Vivica A. Fox’s] daughter, Nikki [Ambrosia Kelley]. I’ve already got the whole mythology: Sofie Fatale [Julie Dreyfus] will get all of Bill’s money. She’ll raise Nikki, who’ll take on the Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as the Bride deserved hers. I might even shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they’re this age. It’s exciting to know that somewhere there’s a little girl who’ll grow up to be my leading lady.”
And of course, rumors persisted through the years, and were fueled even more by Tarantino in 2016. In an interview with Variety he said he had thoughts about ‘Vol 3,’ but nothing was set in stone. “I’ve been very non-committal about it, and I’m not committing to it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if The Bride made one more appearance before the whole thing is said and done,” said the filmmaker. “I’ve been talking to Uma about it just a little bit. Some of the stuff that I’ve written and never made it into the movie that maybe I could use and thinking, ‘OK, now, thirteen years later, what would be going on with Sofie Fatale, what would be going on with Elle Driver?’”
So, all that sounds like “Kill Bill Vol. 3” is all but a certainty, or at least a distinct possibility, right? Well, this all happened before the revelation earlier this year that Uma Thurman had issues with Tarantino on the set of the films, as she documented in a very famous report. She alleges that he was negligent and abusive on set, which led to an injury. The story made all the headlines, and in the process, ensured that QT will probably think twice, or three times, before coming back to the franchise. The stigma surrounding the events behind-the-scenes is likely to stain any sort of threequel.
So, sorry Amandla Stenberg and Ronda Rousey, but it’s highly unlikely you’ll be Tarantino stars anytime soon. But I have a question for them — which superhero would you like to play in an upcoming “Avengers” film?