Early on in the development of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino wanted Michael Madsen to reprise his role from Reservoir Dogs, career criminal Vic Vega, aka Mr. Blonde. Madsen turned down the role to film Wyatt Earp, which I understand he doesn’t regret but almost anyone else in the world would.
This led to John Travolta being cast as Vincent Vega in what was easily his best performance in his entire career, and it led Quentin Tarantino to almost make a prequel tying both films together about the Vega brothers before the events of these films.
Madsen recently filmed a video referencing his role in Reservoir Dogs encouraging people to stay home lest they get their ears cut off.
He also took the opportunity to tell The Hollywood Reporter what we missed out on in that Vega Brothers movie that never got made.
“We were supposed to be in Amsterdam, criminally,” says Madsen of Tarantino’s thoughts. “The picture was going to start out with the two of us being released from prison in different states. And we open up a club in Amsterdam.” In Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega says he just returned to Los Angeles from Amsterdam.
After Madsen and Travolta got too old to play their younger selves outside of like, that Netflix Wet Hot American Summer prequel, Tarantino had another, even crazier idea that also never came to fruition.
“He had come up with this idea that it would be the twin brothers of Vic and Vincent, who met after the deaths of their siblings,” Madsen says, chucking. “It was very complicated, but when Quentin starts discussing an idea, it’s very easy to go along with it.”
That may sound like some weird, dumb soap opera bullshit, but if anyone could have pulled something like that off, it’s Quentin Tarantino. The man made an episode of CSI that was actually watchable by people under the age of 72, he can basically do anything.