Sony Pictures has announced that Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are reuniting with Quentin Tarantino to star in the filmmaker’s latest feature, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Tarantino describes it as “a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a Western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor…Sharon Tate.”

The film is set to be released worldwide on August 9, 2019.

Now, for those who don’t know, which is probably quite a few, Sharon Tate is quite a well-known name in the annuals of Hollywood history.

She was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood’s most promising newcomers.

She made her film debut in 1966 with the occult-themed Eye of the Devil. Her most remembered performance was as Jennifer North in the 1967 cult classic film, Valley of the Dolls, earning her a Golden Globe Award nomination.

On January 20, 1968, Tate married Roman Polanski, her director and co-star in 1967’s The Fearless Vampire Killers. On August 9, 1969, Tate and four others were murdered by members of the Manson Family in the home she shared with Polanski. At the time of her death, she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with the couple’s son.

The movie is an expensive proposition for the studio, as both actors had been tipped to star in the project for weeks but negotiations had been strenuous. In fact, sources said DiCaprio was ready to walk away at one point in January. But Sony is now pointing to the Oscar potential of the actors’ previous collaborations with Tarantino…plus the box office takings, naturally.

Tarantino worked with Pitt in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, which grossed over $321 million globally and was nominated for eight Academy Award, with Christoph Waltz winning for best supporting actor.

DiCaprio starred in Tarantino’s Django Unchained, which was also an Oscar player with five nominations and two wins (best original screenplay for Tarantino and best supporting actor, again for Waltz).

“I’ve been working on this script for five years, as well as living in Los Angeles County most of my life, including in 1969, when I was seven years old,” Tarantino said Wednesday in a statement. “I’m very excited to tell this story of an L.A. and a Hollywood that don’t exist anymore. And I couldn’t be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio & Pitt as Rick & Cliff.”

Margot Robbie is reportedly being eyed to play Tate, Tom Cruise may or may not have been pegged to play a prosecutor, and Tarantino has also reportedly written a supporting role with Al Pacino in mind.

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