Quentin Tarantino Reportedly in Talks to Direct Episodes of ‘Justified’ Limited Series

Quentin Tarantino may soon return to the director’s chair—but it won’t be for a big-screen project.

According to an exclusive Deadline report, the Oscar-winning filmmaker is in talks to direct one or two episodes of Justified: City Primeval—a revival of the FX Emmy-winning series Justified. Though the network and Tarantino have yet to provide confirmation, the publication points out the reported gig makes sense for one big reason.

The original Justified series was based on Fire in the Hole, the 2001 novella written by Elmore Leonard. Tarantino has proven to be a big fan of the late award-winning author, has optioned several of Leonard’s titles throughout his career, and adapted his 1992 Rum Punch novel into the film Jackie Brown. 

The Justified job would also reunite Tarantino with Timothy Olyphant, who plays the main protagonist Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Olyphant previously worked with Tarantino on Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood, in which portrayed actor James Stacy. 

The Justified revival will find Olyphant reprising his role as Givens. The limited series was inspired by Leonard’s City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit book, and is slated to premiere in 2023. 

Per FX’s description:

Having left the hollers of Kentucky eight years ago, Raylan Givens now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of a 14-year-old girl.  His hair is grayer, his hat is dirtier, and the road in front of him is suddenly a lot shorter than the road behind.

A chance encounter on a desolate Florida highway sends him to Detroit. There he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, aka The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and aims to do so again.  Mansell’s lawyer, formidable Motor City native Carolyn Wilder, has every intention of representing her client, even as she finds herself caught in between cop and criminal, with her own game afoot as well. These three characters set out on a collision course in classic Elmore Leonard fashion, to see who makes it out of the City Primeval alive.”

Stay tuned as more information about Justified: City Primeval becomes available.