Quentin Tarantino Almost Teamed Up Michael Madsen And John Travolta For A Crossover Movie

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Michael Madsen was a character actor with many credits to his name, making his mark on cinema in everything from “WarGames” to the “James Bond” franchise in “Die Another Day.” But he’ll always be best remembered for his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, beginning with the filmmaker’s breakthrough 1992 hit “Reservoir Dogs.” While the two worked together again several times, they also nearly revisited Madsen’s “Reservoir Dogs” character, Mr. Blonde.

Madsen’s Mr. Blonde was immortalized thanks to the infamous torture scene in “Reservoir Dogs,” but Mr. Blonde was just the character’s code name for the sake of the heist that goes south in the film. His real name? Vic Vega. If that name sounds familiar it’s because Tarantino has another character that bears that name in his filmography — namely, John Travolta’s Vincent Vega, who helped anchor 1994’s “Pulp Fiction.” Yes, these two characters are related. They are brothers. Tarantino had, at one point, even intended to make a movie focused on the Vega siblings.

In light of Madsen’s recent passing at the age of 67, it’s worth looking back at this would-be spin-off, what it could have been, and why it never came to pass. For now and forever, it will be something that exists in the land of what could have been rather than what is.

Without getting into why the movie didn’t happen (more on that later), it’s worth discussing what we know about the proposed movie and what it might have looked like. As fans of Tarantino’s filmography will surely recall, Mr. Blonde/Vic dies in “Reservoir Dogs,” as does Vincent Vega in “Pulp Fiction.” Interestingly enough, Madsen actually turned down the role of Vincent Vega in “Pulp Fiction” due to his commitment to “Wyatt Earp.”

Had Madsen taken the role, it would have probably killed this Vega brothers idea before it even got off the ground, unless Tarantino wanted to have him play dual roles. However, with Travolta getting to put his stamp on the character, it opened things up. Back in 2020, Madsen discussed what Tarantino had in mind for the Vega brothers movie, including what its story would have involved. In short, it would have been a prequel taking place in Amsterdam. Per Madsen:

“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.”

In the early bits of “Pulp Fiction,” Vincent reveals to Jules that he just returned to Los Angeles from Amsterdam. As the actors both got a little older, though, the prequel idea became less and less practical. Tarantino, when he was still considering making the movie, had a solution for that as well. Per Madsen:

“He 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.”

The whole twin concept is admittedly pretty zany, but then again, Tarantino has a gift for making what might seem like a bad idea on paper work in motion (with “Inglourious Basterds” perhaps being the prime example). In any event, Tarantino moved onto other endeavors in the 1990s, including writing and starring in “From Dusk Till Dawn,” as well as directing “Jackie Brown.” (He even helmed an episode of “ER.”)

Essentially, the project just got pushed to the side by other creative endeavors. It’s nothing unusual, either; most successful directors have a mountain of projects that never see the light of day. It’s just the nature of the beast. In 2007, Tarantino did discuss the proposed movie, which would have been titled “Double V Vega.” Here’s what he had to say about it at the time:

“It was called ‘Double V Vega.’ It actually would have taken place during the time Vincent was in Amsterdam, when he was running one of Marcellus’ clubs in Amsterdam. And Vic goes to visit him … But we’re a little older now, and since they both died — it would have to be a prequel. I actually came up with a way I could have done it, even being older and dead where they all had older brothers and both of their brothers got together because the two guys died. And they wanted revenge or something like that. But now, they [the actors] are too old for that.”

Tarantino, as he exists, is one of the rare Hollywood filmmakers that can pretty much make whatever he wants to make. That’s why he’s planning to retire after he directs his next movie. He’s earned that right now, but that wasn’t always the case. In that way, it’s not hard to see why, at one point, a crossover movie of sorts that united two characters from a pair of beloved hit films would have made sense. But other projects took priority, and this one, thanks in no small part to the ravages of time, fell by the wayside.

You can grab “Reservoir Dogs” on 4K from Amazon.