Before shared cinematic universes became commonplace in Hollywood with the establishment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe (and now the DCU), for instance, Quentin Tarantino was already putting together his own. The filmmaker has openly discussed that most of the characters in his films all exist within the same reality and he has dropped the same subtle hints throughout his movies that connect the titles (and even some films outside of his filmography) together. To better explain how the so-called “Tarantinoverse” works, let’s review all of the Easter Eggs from Quentin Tarantino’s movies that we could find.
Vic And Vincent Vega Are Brothers (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction)
Perhaps the most famous Tarantinoverse detail confirmed by the filmmaker himself is that Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta in 1994’s Pulp Fiction, is the sibling of Reservoir Dogs’ Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), whose real name is Vic Vega. Tarantino even had plans to make a prequel spin-off film called The Vega Brothers that never came to fruition.
The Bride Uses Mr. Blonde’s Razor (Kill Bill Vol. 2)
One of the scariest unseen movie moments occurs in 1992’s Reservoir Dogs when Mr. Blonde slices an ear off of Officer Marvin Nash (Kirk Waltz) with a straight razor. Michael Madsen mentions in the 2019 documentary, QT8: The First Eight, that The Bride (Uma Thurman) uses the same razor to cut the ropes around her wrists after she is buried alive in 2004’s Kill Bill Vol. 2.
The Scagnetti Family (Reservoir Dogs, Natural Born Killers)
In Reservoir Dogs, Mr. Blonde identifies his parole officer as Seymour Scagnetti — a character we never see. However, we have met his brother, Det. Jack Scagnetti, who is played by the late Tom Sizemore in 1994’s Natural Born Killers, which Tarantino wrote the screenplay for.
Alabama From True Romance And Mr. White Were Partners (Reservoir Dogs, True Romance)
Tarantino penned the script for director Tony Scott’s 1992 favorite, True Romance, in which Patricia Arquette plays Alabama Whitman. That same year, she was also mentioned in Reservoir Dogs by Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), who recalls that she used to be his partner in crime.
Mr. Blonde’s Soda Comes From Big Kahuna Burger (Reservoir Dogs)
One of the most prevalent and recognizable recurring details in Tarantino’s filmography is the mention of a Hawaiian fast food joint called Big Kahuna Burger, and its first introduction to the Tarantinoverse is a very subtle one. In Reservoir Dogs, Mr. Blonde’s hand blocks the logo on his drink cup, but we know it comes from the same restaurant because it matches the design of Brett’s (Frank Whaley) drink in Pulp Fiction.
Jules Eats Brett’s Big Kahuna Burger (Pulp Fiction)
The first time Big Kahuna Burger is called out by name in the Tarantinoverse is in Pulp Fiction when Vincent and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) pay a visit to Brett’s apartment as he is enjoying his “nutritious” breakfast. As an intimidation tactic — and because, being in a relationship with a vegetarian, he might not have had one in a while — Jules asks if he can have a bite and determines that the Big Kahuna is, indeed, one “tasty burger.”
A Big Kahuna Burger Drink Cup Sits At The Bar (Four Rooms)
Tarantino both stars in and directs a segment from the 1995 anthology thriller Four Rooms called, “The Man from Hollywood.” At one point in the short, you can see a beverage cup from the Big Kahuna Burger sitting at the bar of the Hotel Mon Signor.
Seth Gets Big Kahuna Burger Takeout (From Dusk Till Dawn)
In the 1996 vampire movie favorite, From Dusk Till Dawn — which Tarantino wrote and Robert Rodriguez directed — Seth Gecko (George Clooney) returns to the motel where his brother, Richard (Tarantino), is waiting with some grub. His meal of choice: Big Kahuna Burger, which is also featured prominently in the series adaptation of the film, which premiered in 2014.
Jungle Julia’s Billboard Is Near Big Kahuna Burger (Death Proof)
Tarantino would collaborate with Rodriguez in 2007 for their own B-movie double feature they called Grindhouse. In one scene from Tarantino’s segment, Death Proof, Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) asks radio personality Jungle Julia (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) about a billboard advertisement for her show, which he describes as “near the Big Kahuna Burger.”
Big Kahuna Burger Bus Advertisement (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)
Big Kahuna Burger has apparently been around since at least the 1960s, as evident by a quick reference in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which boasts plenty of other cool behind-the-scenes facts. At one point in the 2019 alternative history drama, an ad for the restaurant on a passing bus can be found.
Big Kahuna Burger Takeout Seen When Max Meets Sharkboy (The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl)
Proof that Robert Rodriguez’s family-friendly superhero movie, 2005’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, is part of the Tarantinoverse lies in its Big Kahuna Burger sighting. When Max (Cayden Boyd) recalls the moment he first met Sharkboy (Taylor Lautner) — in his dreams, at least — you can see a very familiar drinking cup and food bag sitting next to him on the fishing dock.
Captain Koons Is A Descendant Of “Crazy” Craig Koons (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained)
The last name Koons can be attributed to a couple of different characters in the Tarantinoverse who are separated by more than a century. Christopher Walken’s character in Pulp Fiction, Vietnam War veteran Captain Koons, is related to “Crazy” Craig Koons, who is identified as a member of the Smitty Bacall Gang in 2012’s Django Unchained.
Mr. Blonde And Rick Dalton Have The Same Car (Reservoir Dogs, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)
If the 1966 Cadillac DeVille owned by Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), but driven throughout Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), looks familiar, it is not by coincidence. In Reservoir Dogs, Mr. Blonde drives the same model and, in fact, it could very likely be the exact same vehicle.
We learn in Reservoir Dogs that Mr. White’s real name is Larry Dimmick, which confirms that he is in some way related to Tarantino’s character from Pulp Fiction, Jimmie Dimmick. He must not be a very close relative or else Jimmie might have mentioned something about Winston Wolf (played by Keitel) looking like someone he knows when he shows up at his house.
Eddie Mentions A Nurse Named Bonnie (Reservoir Dogs)
In Reservoir Dogs, with Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) badly hurt from a gunshot to the stomach, Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn) mentions that he could call on a nurse he knows named Bonnie to help him. She never shows up to witness the horrifying events that have transpired, but she may have come close to seeing some other instances of “gangster” stuff on another occasion.
Jimmie Dimmick’s Wife Is A Nurse Named Bonnie (Pulp Fiction)
It is very possible that the same Bonnie whom Eddie mentions in Reservoir Dogs is the wife of Jimmie Dimmick, whom he describes as a nurse named Bonnie in Pulp Fiction.
Pete Hicox Is Archie Hicox’s Ancestor (Inglourious Basterds, The Hateful Eight)
Tim Roth reunited with Tarantino for the first time since Four Rooms for The Hateful Eight to play Oswaldo Mobray, who is later revealed to be named English Pete Hicox. The English actor mentions in QT8: The First Eight that his character in the 2015 Western is the great-great-grandfather of Lt. Archie Hicox, who is played by Michael Fassbender in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds.
The G.O. Juice Billboard (Kill Bill Vol. 1)
The Tarantinovere also has its own brand of soft drink that eagle-eyed fans may have spotted on occasion. The first known sighting is in 2003’s Kill Bill Vol. 1 when, as The Bride’s plane is landing is Okinawa, Japan, a billboard advertising the beverage can be seen.
Abernathy Drinks G.O. Juice (Death Proof)
The recurring energy drink G.O. Juice would make its first physical appearance in the Tarantino film Death Proof. Rosario Dawson’s character, a make-up artist named Abernathy Ross, can be seen sipping from a can while on break from her film shoot.
Donny Donowitz Is Lee Donowitz’s Ancestor (True Romance, Inglourious Basterds)
Saul Rubinek stars in True Romance as successful movie producer Lee Donowitz, whom Tarantino would confirm in an interview is the son of Eli Roth’s Inglourious Basterds character, Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz. Perhaps Lee’s war film, Comin’ Home Home in a Body Bag, is a tribute to his father, who did not survive Operation Kino.
Kill Bill Shares Its Premise With Mia’s Fox Force Five Pilot (Pulp Fiction)
In Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) discusses with Vincent that she did a TV pilot about a group of female assassins called Fox Force Five, which sounds quite a bit like the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad from Kill Bill. Considering that Pulp exists in Tarantino’s “realer than real universe” and Kill Bill exists in his “movie universe” — which makes up films that the denizens of his “realer than real universe” go see — it is possible that the failed Fox Force Five series was reworked into the two-part revenge saga.
The Nash Family (Reservoir Dogs, Natural Born Killers, Django Unchained)
Marvin Nash — the cop Mr. Blonde tortures in Reservoir Dogs — shares his last name with multiple characters in the Tarantinoverse. He is somehow related to another cop named Gerald — a victim of the Knoxes in Natural Born Killers — who is a descendent of a Smitty Bacall Gang member who is also named Gerald Nash.
Earl McGraw Shows Up At Benny’s (From Dusk Till Dawn)
The most prolific recurring character in the Tarantinoverse is a cop named Earl McGraw, as played by Michael Parks. While the Texas Ranger was first introduced making a stop at a convenience store in From Dusk Till Dawn, his death in that scene suggests the 1996 thriller takes place after the later Tarantino films where he pops up, or outside of the “realer than real universe.”
Earl And Edgar McGraw Investigate The Two Pine’s Chapel Massacre (Kill Bill Vol. 1)
The reoccurring character Earl McGraw would return, alongside his son and colleague, Edgar (Parks’ real-life son, James Parks), in Kill Bill Vol. 1 to examine the aftermath of the horrifying events that took place at what is believed to be The Bride’s wedding. Parks would also appear in Kill Bill Vol. 2, but in the entirely different role of Esteban Vihaio.
Dakota McGraw-Block Comes To Earl For Shelter (Planet Terror)
Earl McGraw also has an estranged daughter in the form of Marley Shelton’s character, Dakota Block, from Planet Terror — also one of Robert Rodriguez’s best movies. The two awkwardly reunite in the apocalyptic first half of Grindhouse when Dakota reluctantly takes refuge from the infected at Earl’s home.
Earl And Edgar McGraw See Dakota At The Hospital (Death Proof)
Ranger McGraw and “Son #1” would show up together in Death Proof, which we learn is also a prequel to Planet Terror when they meet with Dakota at the hospital where she works as an anesthesiologist. They ask her to update them on the status of Stuntman Mike, whom they suspect intentionally murdered the victims of a head-on collision that was ruled as an accident.
Donny Donowitz’s “Antonio Margheriti” Pseudonym (Inglourious Basterds)
Antonio Margheriti was an actual Italian filmmaker famous for making B-movies like one of Tarantino’s favorites, 1980’s Cannibal Apocalypse. As a tribute to him, Tarantino had Donny assume his name as part of the Basterds’ infiltration of Le Gamaar Cinema in Inglourious Basterds.
Antonio Margheriti Directed Operazione Dyn-o-mite! (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)
Tarantino would also pay tribute to Antonio Margheriti in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He made him the director of Rick Dalton’s spy movie, Operazione Dyn-o-mite!
Paula Schultz May Be King’s Wife (Kill Bill Vol. 2, Django Unchained)
In Kill Bill Vol. 2, Budd (Michael Madsen) buries The Bride alive in a grave that one belonged to a woman named Paula Schultz. One interesting fan theory suggests that she was the wife of the widowed Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) in Django Unchained.
Buddy Holly Could Be Mr. Pink (Pulp Fiction)
Mia and Vincent’s server at Jack Rabbit Slims — who calls himself Buddy, in reference to his resemblance to rock ’n roll pioneer Buddy Holly — is played by Steve Buscemi, who previously starred in Reservoir Dogs as Mr. Pink. It is not confirmed, but some have suggested that the waiter and Mr. Pink are the same person, which could be backed up by the criminal’s mentioning that he used to work minimum wage.
Michael Keaton As Ray Nicolette (Jackie Brown)
The one Tarantino movie that actually exists outside of his shared universes is 1997’s Jackie Brown, which shares ties with another Elmore Leonard adaptation from 1998: Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight. This is supported by Michael Keaton’s appearances in both films as ATF agent Ray Nicolette.
Red Apples (Multiple Films)
Perhaps the most recognizable fictitious brand in the Tarantinoverse is Red Apple, which is seen enjoyed by the likes of Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs, multiple Pulp Fiction characters, and Señor Bob (Demián Bichir) in The Hateful Eight. They can also be seen advertised at an airport in Kill Bill Vol. 1 and promoted by Rick Dalton in the mid-credits sequence from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
