Few filmmakers treat side projects with the same flair as Quentin Tarantino. Between directing tentpole cinema, the auteur has a habit of drifting into creative detours, popping up in small acting roles, diving into pulp-culture scholarship, and even experimenting with stage storytelling. His slate of curiosities continues to grow: Tarantino is preparing his West End play The Popinjay Cavalier for a 2027 debut and recently stepped in front of the camera for Only What We Carry (2026), the indie feature from Welsh filmmaker Jamie Adams.

But Tarantino has never been the type to sit still for long. His latest side quest does not involve directing or acting; rather, it is a reunion with his long-time collaborator, RZA.

According to an exclusive report from Deadline, RZA is launching a new label, 36 Cinema Distribution, beginning with the U.S. theatrical rollout of his revenge thriller RZA’s One Spoon of Chocolate. Quentin Tarantino, who has been a mentor and collaborator to the Wu-Tang Clan founder, has signed on to present the film, lending his curatorial stamp to a project steeped in martial-arts cinema and grindhouse sensibilities.

The partnership feels like a natural extension of a creative relationship forged during Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2. RZA famously composed the distinctive score for the films and obsessively recreated the sonic texture of vintage kung-fu flicks, down to the exaggerated clang of blades and the rhythmic thud of wooden staffs colliding. 

Now that shared love for cinema is fueling a theatrical launch. RZA’s One Spoon of Chocolate, written, directed, and produced by RZA, will open in U.S. theatres on May 1, 2026, with distribution support from Variance Films. 

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Of course, a theatrical launch and Tarantino’s backing are only half the equation; the film’s premise is where the grindhouse DNA truly kicks in.

If the title sounds cryptic, the story leans firmly into classic revenge-drama territory. One Spoon of Chocolate, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival last year, stars Shameik Moore, Blair Underwood, RJ Cyler, Paris Jackson, Emyri Crutchfield, Michael Harney, and Harry Goodwins. The film follows Unique, a war veteran and former convict, as he attempts to rebuild his life in a quiet small town.

That fragile peace unravels after a violent encounter with a local gang, prompting Unique to suspect they may be connected to the disappearance of several young men, including his cousin. As he digs deeper, the investigation begins to point toward an even darker conspiracy involving the town’s sheriff’s department.

Among Quentin Tarantino's dozen other side quests, the project he is backing positions the filmmaker not just as a director but as a curator of the cinematic traditions that shaped him. With Tarantino presenting the film and a theatrical strategy designed for cinephiles, 36 Cinema Distribution appears poised to turn nostalgia for grindhouse storytelling into a modern theatrical event.

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Will this latest Quentin Tarantino-endorsed detour become another cult classic in the making? Share your thoughts in the comments.