Quentin Tarantino has always maintained that his career would end after ten films or by the time he turned 60, whichever came first. Since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, fans have been eager to discover what his final work might be. For a time, that film appeared to be The Movie Critic, a story set in 1977 Los Angeles. But in a surprising twist, Tarantino has revealed he is shelving the project entirely.

Everything we know about it, below.

What was the film going to be about?

Despite the uncertainty of the film's future, Tarantino has kept most of the details about his latest project under lock and key. However, at a Q&A event in Paris, Tarantino announced that the film would be set in the year 1977 – very specifically – which was a big year in the world of cinema (hello Star Wars). It was also a time where Hollywood was being swept by a new wave of filmmakers – from Scorsese to Coppola to Spielberg and Lucas. 

While Tarantino has denied that the film would follow real-life 70s film critic and essayist Pauline Kael, he has said that the film's critic protagonist would draw similarities to Taxi Driver's anti-hero, Travis Bickle.

And what about the cast?

It wouldn't be a Tarantino film without a set roaming with Hollywood's most treasured actors. In the past he's managed to draw in names like Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, Uma Thurman, Margot Robbie, Margaret Qualley and more.

Whatever project winds up being Tarantino's last, we imagine actors will be scrambling over each other to book a role.

Why will it be Tarantino's last film?

The idea that Tarantino would only make 10 films emerged from an interview the director did with Playboy back in 2012 while promoting Django Unchained. He told the publication, "I just don't want to be an old-man filmmaker. I want to stop at a certain point. Directors don't get better as they get older," he controversially stated. "Usually the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end. I am all about my filmography, and one bad film fucks up three good ones..."

However, he also admitted there's no hard and fast rules once he hits the auspicious number. "If I have a change of heart, if I come up with a new story, I could come back." Let's see if retirement sticks.