‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’: Al Pacino Joins Ever-Expanding Cast Led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt

Just when you thought he was out, they pull him back in. Al Pacino has been cast in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” joining an ever-expanding ensemble led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pritt, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell, Burt Reynolds, and Dakota Fanning.

Quentin Tarantino has been reluctant to refer to the upcoming drama as his “Charles Manson Movie,” but no one else has: Taking place in the summer of 1969, it stars Robbie as Sharon Tate, who was murdered by the Manson Family while eight months pregnant. A source close to the production confirmed the news to IndieWire.

Pacino will play Marvin Schwarz, the agent of DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton — a past-his-prime star of Westerns attempting to reignite his career along with his longtime stuntman (Pitt); as fate would have it, Dalton happens to live next door to Tate. Other recent additions to the cast are Damian Lewis, Clifton Collins Jr., Keith Jefferson, Nicholas Hammond, and Timothy Olyphant.

The film is being made at Sony, marking the first time that Tarantino has not worked with Harvey Weinstein in one form or another since beginning his career. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is set for release on August 9, 2019 — 50 years and one day after Tate’s murder.

Additional reporting by Jenna Marotta.