Few directors in the world are in the same stratosphere as Quentin Tarantino, and ever since breaking out in the 90s, the director has continued to add to his amazing legacy. He has had countless hits on the big screen and has gotten to work with some of the biggest movie stars of all time.
During the 90s, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were Tarantino’s first releases, and both films have amazing legacies in Hollywood. There is a unique connection shared between two characters from those films, and at one point, a crossover idea was being kicked around.
Let’s look at the Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction crossover that was being considered.
‘Reservoir Dogs’ Got The Ball Rolling For Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino has had an incredible career in Hollywood, and Pulp Fiction did mark his first massive hit with mainstream fans. However, Reservoir Dogs was the first flick that Tarantino directed. It wasn’t a major financial hit, but it let serious film fans know that a new era of filmmaking was right around the corner.
The budget for Reservoir Dogs was tiny, and the director was even using residuals from his time on The Golden Girls to keep things afloat while the movie was being made. Despite some struggles, Tarantino unleashed a brilliant piece of filmmaking on the world back when the film debuted in 1992. Again, it wasn’t a commercial hit, but as time has gone on, the film has been heralded as a classic.
The cast of the film was brilliant in their roles, and many of them would work with Tarantino multiple times. It really set a precedent for the type of work that he would continue to make as the years went on, steadily improving at his craft with each new outing.
As great as it was the Reservoir Dogs got things started, everything changed in 1994 when Pulp Fiction went down as one of the greatest movies ever made.
‘Pulp Fiction’ Made Him A Household Name
At this point, there is probably nothing else that needs to be said about the greatness of Pulp Fiction. Everything from the acting to the storytelling has been dissected and discussed for years, and it’s partly why this film is considered as great as it is. People haven’t stopped talking about it, and as time goes on, the discussions will continue to add to its legacy.
This was the film that put Tarantino on the map and made him a household name. 1994 was a huge year for movies, with many considering it to be one of the best years of all time. The fact that Pulp Fiction is considered the cream of the crop from that year and the decade overall is nothing short of impressive.
There are certainly pieces of Tarantino’s films that are connected, making for a loosely shared universe of sorts. It’s not as on-the-nose and direct as Kevin Smith’s movies are, but there are some unique connections between characters. For instance, Michael Madsen’s Vic Vega from Reservoir Dogs and John Travolta’s Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction are, in fact, brothers.
Thanks to the success of both films and the popularity of the characters, Tarantino was actually interested in making a crossover flick about the brothers.
The Proposed Crossover
According to Michael Madsen, “[Quentin Tarantino] had come up with this idea that it would be the twin brothers of Vic and Vincent, who met after the deaths of their siblings. It was very complicated, but when Quentin starts discussing an idea, it's very easy to go along with it.”
It’s interesting to read that Tarantino wanted the guys to play twins of their characters from his movies, and while it does sound complicated, Madsen did say that it’s easy enough. This would have been an cool change, to be sure, and Madsen revealed some other details about the proposed project.
“We were supposed to be in Amsterdam, criminally. The picture was going to start out with the two of us being released from prison in different states. And we open up a club in Amsterdam,” said Madsen.
Madsen and Travolta would eventually work together on Trading Paint, but neither were playing a member of the Vega clan. They did, however, have a hilarious moment while working together.
Per Madsen, “We had a scene where we are at a big retirement party, and I walked up to John and he goes, ‘I thought you were dead.’ And I looked over at him and I said, ‘Well, I thought you were dead.'”
The crossover could have been awesome for Tarantino fans, but we will always just have to wonder what could have been.