Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino shocks the world as he contacted Epic Games for a Kill Bill crossover with Fortnite. Kicking off Chapter 7: Pacific Break is an animated short film, The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge. Tarantino’s fans finally get the chance to witness a cut scene from Volume 1 after 20 years, and in time for the duology’s deluxe director’s cut, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. But how did this project come together?
Tarantino Chose Fortnite for Fan-Built Multiverse
At an Epic Games Q&A, the director himself said he chose Fortnite because he saw the opportunity to revive Yuki’s Revenge. “It would be different if [the developers] came to me and said you could come up with something new for Kill Bill. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t be cool, but it wouldn’t be organic,” Tarantino explained. “It would be cool to take advantage of the situation. This is a lost chapter I always wanted to see the light of day, and now it has.”
The Django director also appreciates that the popular battle royale has a multiverse made for various fans, with Matt Groening’s The Simpsons being the most recent installment. Tarantino commented, “[Fortnite] felt like a wonderful fit for the game world and the characters. I was waiting for when the time was right, and Fortnite was right – something cinematic in a much bigger world.”
Where is Yuki’s Revenge in the Kill Bill Timeline?
According to the official animated short, Yuki’s Revenge takes place after Vernita Green’s death. Tarantino wanted to hire Battle Royale (2000) ‘s Kô Shibasaki, but was unable to sign her film contract because the producers switched to Chapter 6: Massacre at Two Pines for Kill Bill Vol. 2. This left the scene’s script unused for over 20 years.
Yuki’s Revenge was planned to be Volume 2’s original prologue scene. The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad leader, Bill, hired the Japanese high schooler after receiving the Bride’s message from O-Ren Ishii’s lawyer, Sofie Fatale. The reason she agreed to the hit is related to Chapter 5: Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves.
The Quentin Tarantino Archives informed movie enthusiasts that Yuki is Gogo Yubari’s twin sister. In Kill Bill Vol. 1, Gogo was an assassin prodigy and O-Ren’s personal bodyguard. The high schooler met her end when the Bride slammed a nail board into her skull. She was also played by Shibasaki’s Battle Royale (2000) co-star, Chiaki Kuriyama.
How the Script Changed for Fortnite?
The lost Kill Bill chapter shows how dedicated Tarantino is to this cinematic piece. The Bride’s actress, Uma Thurman, reprised her role and felt excited to reunite with the franchise. Joining her as Yuki Yubari is Japanese-American actress Miyu Ishidate Roberts. The Third Floor and Epic Games did their best to animate Tarantino’s vision as accurately as possible.
LiveJournal is currently the only way to read Yuki’s Revenge script publicly. The differences between Fortnite and Tarantino’s original version are the added dialogue, the lack of blood, and the setting within the massive multiverse. There’s also the removal of an extra named Nurse Owens. She and the Bride get into a banter about calling an ambulance for help, or saving the Black Mamba for extra cash.
As for the rest of the script, it’s insane with what restrictions Tarantino had to work with. Surprisingly, he managed to dial down Yuki’s Revenge to a TV-16 rating. What really threw viewers off was that the Slurp Juice was being used for temporal invulnerability. Yuki used it as a prop for Bill’s special concoction called The Blues. This was changed from its original powdered form. The stage directions read, “From her hiding place, Yuki snorts a line of baby blue powder.”
Overall, Yuki’s Revenge is a thrilling short to watch. Thurman sounds like she’s almost exactly back in her prime, and the Bride looks wonderful. Ishidate Roberts did a fantastic job at capturing Gogo’s twin high-octane personality. The animation is very stylized and fluent, even replicating Kill Bill’s film editor, Sally Menke’s transitions and iconic split screen. Players can watch the short at Fortnite at the Golden Reel movie theater, or let’s plays on YouTube. And for new Kill Bill fans, catch The Whole Bloody Affair on Dec. 5th!
