For most film enthusiasts, Quentin Tarantino’s name alone brings about a boisterous amount of opinions. He has become one of the most well-known directors in modern American cinema with what most would consider a small resume of films. To date, Tarantino has only made seven feature films, starting with “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) and “Pulp Fiction” (1994) and finishing most recently with “Inglourious Bastards” (2009) and “Django Unchained” (2012). Fans speculate that the third and final film of Tarantino’s “history series” is going to be “The Hateful Eight,” but the final product will show whether he can create something we haven’t already seen in his past films.

 “The Hateful Eight” began its unique life cycle in early January 2014. About a week after its announcement, controversy and gossip began to circulate about the production of the film. Apparently, someone in the “extremely limited” group of people that Tarantino gave the script to leaked it to the media and blogging network “Gawker.” Gawker published the script in its entirety online and the leak caused one of Tarantino’s well-known rampages to kick in. He immediately scrapped the film and filed a lawsuit against Gawker. In the following weeks, Tarantino dropped the lawsuit and decided to have a live reading of the script with the cast that he planned for the film. The reading was well received by fans and critics and Tarantino reversed his initial decision to cancel the film. He stated that he was going to revise the script and change the ending to make the story relatively fresh.

When Tarantino finished the script, a definitive plot summary was released. From the information gathered, the plot of the film involves eight “hateful” people who are stuck in a saloon during a massive blizzard. The film takes place in historical “Western” times and the film supposedly depicts what happens as they interact and are forced to be together. Since filming has already begun, the entire cast of the “Eight” has been released, as follows :

1. Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren aka “The Bounty Hunter”
2. Kurt Russell as John Ruth aka “The Hangman”
3. Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue aka “The Prisoner”
4. Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix aka “The Sheriff”
5. Demián Bichir as Bob aka “The Mexican”
6. Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray aka “The Little Man”
7. Michael Madsen as Joe Gage aka “The Cow Puncher”
8. Bruce Dern as Gen. Sanford Smithers aka “The Confederate”

Channing Tatum and Zoe Bell have supporting roles within the film.

While Tarantino said he wanted to continue his “history trilogy,” it would have been nice to have him cover another time in history. As a Western film, like his most recent film, “Django Unchained,” Tarantino doesn’t explore other iconic periods. “Reservoir Dogs” also has a similar plot to that of “The Hateful Eight.” “Reservoir Dogs” was his first feature film that took place primarily in one room, much like how this upcoming film supposedly takes place almost entirely in the saloon.

Another similarity with the rest of Tarantino’s films is the cast. With the exception of Channing Tatum, all of these actors have already been in Tarantino’s movies. We all know exactly what we’re getting from each of them, and I worry their schtick will feel worn down. Tatum has shown charisma in the past, but the “21 Jump Street” star does not seem to fit into one of Tarantino’s films.

Tarantino fans like myself are skeptical about this new film; the similarities make it seem that his next film will be unoriginal. The director and screenwriter is known to pay homage to films that have inspired him in the past, but has  always employed originality. Let’s hope that “The Hateful Eight,” scheduled for release on November 2015, rises above expectations and adds another reputable film to Tarantino’s resume.

Jesse Hernandez can be reached at [email protected]