Quentin Tarantino’s movies stand out for their heavy use of blood and violence, but also for his undeniable screenwriting talent, with most praise going towards the way he writes dialogue. Throughout his career, Tarantino has explored different genres, even going as far as to tell alternate versions of historical events.

Falling into that category is Inglourious Basterds, in which Tarantino explores an alternate version of World War II and Adolf Hitler’s fate. Inglourious Basterds follows two storylines with the same goal: kill as many Nazis as possible, including Hitler. Inglourious Basterds was a critical and commercial success, winning multiple awards and becoming one of Tarantino’s best works. However, Inglourious Basterds could have been very different, as it almost became a TV miniseries for one weird reason, yet it’s very fitting with Tarantino.

Tarantino Almost Made Inglourious Basterds As A Miniseries Because He Couldn’t Stop Writing

Tarantino Was A Bit Too Inspired While Working On Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino spent over a decade working on the script of Inglourious Basterds, which he was sure was going to be his masterpiece. Inglourious Basterds became a bigger movie than he anticipated, and by 2002, he had three nearly finished scripts, which he said were some of the best writing he had ever done, but he was struggling to write an ending (via USA Today). Tarantino then started working on both Kill Bill movies, after which he returned to Inglourious Basterds and considered making it as a TV miniseries.

Tarantino said that people believed he was going through writer’s block, but it was actually the opposite, and he couldn’t stop writing.

Speaking to fellow filmmaker and Grindhouse partner Robert Rodriguez in 2021 as part of the latter’s Director’s Chair series, Tarantino explained why he almost made Inglourious Basterds as a TV miniseries. Tarantino said that people believed he was going through writer’s block, but it was actually the opposite, and he couldn’t stop writing. Tarantino shared he had a 100-page script and “no end in sight”, and as much as he tried to tame it, he couldn’t do it. Because Inglourious Basterds became so big, Tarantino thought the best format for it would be a miniseries.

Tarantino also revealed that he shared his idea for the Inglourious Basterds miniseries with fellow filmmaker Luc Besson, who wasn’t thrilled about it. After Besson told Tarantino that he was one of the few filmmakers who made him want to leave his house, Tarantino reconsidered his idea and chose to make Inglourious Basterds as a feature film.

Inglourious Basterds As A Miniseries Would Have Been Good, But A Movie Is Better

Inglourious Basterds Got The Perfect Format

Given the different storylines and many colorful characters in Inglourious Basterds, it would have worked as a miniseries, but it’s still better as a movie. There’s a lot about Shosanna’s (Mélanie Laurent) story after her escape and before she met Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) that wasn’t revealed in Inglourious Basterds, as well as a lot of history about Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and the Basterds. With that in mind, a miniseries would have allowed Inglourious Basterds to cover more of each group’s plans and history.

However, when looking at Inglourious Basterds, it’s also hard to imagine it as any other thing than a feature-length film. The pace of Inglourious Basterds is perfect, and watching the plans of Shoshanna and the Basterds unfold parallel to each other works a lot better than if they had been developed in episodes. Even though Quentin Tarantino struggled to come up with an ending, Inglourious Basterds ultimately got one of the most memorable and satisfying endings, and it might have not happened had it been made as a miniseries.

Sources: USA Today, Director’s Chair.