The first time the words Fortnite and Quentin Tarantino appeared together ahead of this new season, it sounded like such an odd fit. For one, Tarantino is an avowed supporter of physical media, to the point that he only screens movies printed on film at his two Los Angeles-area theaters. The idea that he would add his beloved characters to the digital toybox we call Fortnite seemed a bit far-fetched. Now, with a bit of context, it makes a lot more sense.
On Sunday, Tarantino’s new animated short film, The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge, arrives in Fortnite. The short was developed in Unreal Engine 5 and uses Fortnite‘s assets to create a seriously vicious battle between the Bride (Uma Thurman) and Yuki Yubari (Miyu Roberts), the sister of Kill Bill‘s Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama). For it, Tarantino pulled a piece of his original Kill Bill script that he never originally wanted to cut.
“When you’re dealing with something that’s going to be drastically too long, then you start losing the things that are easy to lose that don’t affect the story, and that was definitely the case with this,” Tarantino said during a Q&A at the short’s world premiere. “But also, it just seemed like too much to chew. I can imagine us — and we did — figuring out how to do the House of Blue Leaves scene, but how to figure out how to do the House of Blue Leaves scene and this thing in the course of one shoot just seemed like a bridge too far.”
For those that don’t remember, the House of Blue Leaves scene finds the Bride battling O-Ren Ishii’s (Lucy Liu) personal battalion of warriors, the Crazy 88. It’s a viciously bloody scene and, though originally presented in black and white, will be seen in color for the first time in Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. Similarly, Yuki’s Revenge is a huge action set piece that would have taken quite a bit of time and money to bring together back then.
This isn’t a mere cash grab by Epic Games, though, according to the director. “It would be a different story if Epic Games came to me and said, ‘Hey, look, can you come up with something to do with Kill Bill, some cockamamie thing to yank out of your butt?’ And I’m not saying that that wouldn’t be cool, but it wouldn’t be this,” he explained during the Q&A. “It wouldn’t be organic. It wouldn’t be literally a lost chapter.”
Most excitingly, it brings Uma Thurman back to the role of the Bride (aka Beatrix Kiddo). After first suiting up as the Bride in 2002, it was exciting to play the Bride once more and get to create with Tarantino, Thurman said. What struck Thurman most, though, was how different the process was. Unlike any of the movies Tarantino and Thurman collaborated on, this one was being created in the digital space.
There were no sets, costumes, or lavish locations. Instead, Tarantino directed Thurman while she wore a motion capture suit in a motion capture studio. The actress didn’t have her surroundings, clothing, or anything else to rely on to recreate the Bride, other than bare necessities.
“I think given that there was no environment, it’s just nice to rely purely on your creative acting,” she said during the Q&A. “It’s like, Oh, there’s Beatrice. Just coming right out of me. You don’t need the room. You don’t need the outfit. You’ve just got your director, good dialogue, great people, and that’s just pure work.”
With that work done, Tarantino’s Kill Bill, at least in its current form, is complete. However, he does have an idea for a potential prequel.
The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge debuts Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. EST in Fortnite and will be attached to select screenings of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
