Reservoir Dogs: Biggest Things A Tarantino Novel Could Answer & Explain

Director Quentin Tarantino recently released a novel of his 2019 revisionist movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and his next project of a Reservoir Dogs novel could answer all of the questions and background left untold in his 1992 debut movie. With the success of his novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino is now not only an award-winning writer and director but also a best-selling author. The new OUATIH book includes chapters of deleted scenes from the movie as well as answers to questions and more background information on the characters. With only one movie left on his 10-film cap, Tarantino may leave the directing behind for a future in movie novelizations, hopefully meaning more adaptations of his own.

Reservoir Dogs premiered in 1992 as an independent crime movie by then-unknown director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino. The movie blends themes from crime thrillers of times past with Tarantino’s signature nonlinear storytelling and controversial profanity and violence, exemplified by the infamous ear-cutting scene. The story follows a group of criminals who are brought together under aliases to perform a jewelry store heist that goes wrong, showing who the criminals were before the heist and the ensuing chaos that follows.

Tarantino revealed on The Big Picture podcast that he has no intention to stop adapting films into novels, with hints that Reservoir Dogs could be his next book release. He explained that before deciding to go ahead with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s book, he had already written two chapters of a Reservoir Dogs novelization. With Tarantino himself knowing the story has so much more to offer than seen in the 99-minute movie, here are all of the questions and important details a Reservoir Dogs novel could answer.

The Actual Heist

Q pulls a trick that not many other crime films try, as Reservoir Dog’s central heist is never shown. The movie picks up before and after the heist, showing the criminals all meeting right beforehand under their aliases, their meetings and recruitment for the heist by Joe Cabot, and the following deaths, shootouts, and betrayals following the terribly executed heist. Hollywood lore says that Tarantino never filmed the heist scene because of budgetary restraints, though others believe it was a creative choice considering Glengarry Glen Ross, which was also released in 1992, omitted its crucial robbery scene as well.

Tarantino’s new OUATIH book surprisingly leaves out the famous signature Tarantino gory death scene, whereas Reservoir Dogs’ book could do the opposite by giving fans the details of the heist. The heist is supposed to be quite simple and easily performed considering a group of highly-skilled career criminals has been recruited, but Reservoir Dogs doesn’t visualize what actually went wrong, as it simply gives hindsight into how the criminals believe they messed up. If Tarantino continues with his nonlinear storytelling, the novel could even open with explaining the heist before going into the before and after details in further chapters.

What Happened To Mr. Pink

The only character who was never revealed to have died after the heist was Mr. Pink (Steve Buschemi), who attempted to run away with the diamonds after most of the crew had already died. Mr. Pink had escaped to the warehouse with Orange, White, and eventually Blond, and ended up being the only uninjured participant after a Mexican standoff between Joe, Eddie, White, and Orange. When Pink flees with the diamonds, he can be heard off-screen attempting to evade the police as they storm the warehouse. The movie ends with White shooting Orange and gunfire erupting in the warehouse with no clear indication of Mr. Pink’s fate. Since the OUTIH novel extends beyond the movie’s timeline, a Reservoir Dogs novel could reveal what happened after the warehouse massacre’s events, including what exactly happened to Mr. Pink.

Mr. White’s Partnership With Alabama Worley

One of the early Easter eggs that would soon connect to the Tarantino universe occurs when Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) meets with Joe Cabot to discuss his criminal resume before the heist. Mr. White mentions that he had worked with a young woman named Alabama in his career, which fans have long speculated is the former-prostitute criminal Alabama Worley from True Romance (1994). Since Tarantino wrote the scripts to True Romance and Reservoir Dogs, Alabama is included in his movies’ shared universe, and a connection between his two earliest films would make sense. Mr. White, whose real name is Lawrence Dimmick, is also believed to be related to the Pulp Fiction character played by Quentin Tarantino himself, Jimmie Dimmick.

Mr. White and Alabama’s connection may not make sense with how True Romance director Tony Scott changed the movie’s ending, though the original Tarantino script puts Alabama on a track where they could end up working together. The movie ends with Clarence and Alabama both surviving the shootout and escaping to Mexico, whereas Tarantino’s version has Clarence dying, with Alabama likely onto a life of crime to survive. A Reservoir Dogs book could give a point-of-view flashback to Mr. White where he describes the crimes he committed with Alabama Worley, giving a solid confirmation to the duo’s partnership and how they met.

Mr. Blond/Vic Vega’s Brotherhood With Vincent Vega

Mr. Blond’s flashback with the Cabots reveals that his real name is Vic Vega, which would become a much more significant tidbit two years later in Pulp Fiction. John Travolta’s criminal Pulp Fiction character Vincent Vega was disclosed by Tarantino to be the brother of Michael Madsen’s Vic Vega. Tarantino had actually planned to make a combined prequel movie to Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction about the Vega brothers, but by the time he got around to it, the actors had gotten too old. A novelization of Reservoir Dogs could include the untold Vega brothers story, giving Mr. Blond’s backstory as he grows up and gets into a shared life of crime with Vincent.

Why Mr. Orange Wears A Wedding Ring

One of the most debated unanswered questions from Reservoir Dogs is why Mr. Orange/Freddy (Tim Roth) wears a wedding ring. Freddy’s flashbacks indicate that he wasn’t married and his Mr. Orange alias never claims to have a wife, so it’s unknown why he wears the ring. Tim Roth wasn’t married until a year after Reservoir Dogs’ release, so this also wasn’t an overlooked detail by the production crew. One fan theory speculates that Freddy wore it as a good luck charm, while others believe the ring was a prop for Mr. Orange’s criminal cover story. Critics have also proposed that Mr. Orange’s wedding ring references an offscreen former, current, deceased, or fake wife, as hinted by the song “Fool For Love” that plays over the scene. If one debated Reservoir Dogs detail needs clearing up in a novel, it’s the mysterious wedding band that Mr. Orange slips on.

Who Actually Shot Nice Guy Eddie

The famous shoot-out scene between Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Nice Guy Eddie, and Joe Cabot has caused notable confusion among viewers, specifically about who shot the bullets that killed Nice Guy Eddie. In the scene’s setup with where the guns are pointed, Joe shoots Orange, Eddie shoots White, then White shoots and kills both Joe and Eddie. The confusion comes where Eddie’s blood squib goes off before Mr. White is even able to shoot him, though Eddie still collapses dead from a bullet. Orange didn’t have a loaded gun during the standoff, so the plausible conclusion is that White was the one to shoot and kill Eddie.

Because of the squib debacle, fans have theorized that Mr. Pink, who was notably absent from the shoot-out, was hiding underneath the warehouse’s ramp and shot Nice Guy Eddie. The theory posits that Mr. Pink would have shot Eddie because everyone else was injured or nearly dead, so with Eddie gone he could easily slip away and flee with the diamonds. Tarantino has suggested that he consciously left in the mistake to give viewers something to talk about (though the ear-cutting scene influenced enough conversation), while a Reservoir Dogs novel could give a more detailed retelling of the shoot-out that tells exactly who shot and killed Eddie.

About The Author

Jordan Williams
(817 Articles Published)

Jordan Williams is a Movie/TV Feature Senior Staff Writer for Screen Rant. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Media Studies.

Jordan is based in Seattle, Washington and enjoys exploring the natural beauty the PNW has to offer. She runs on coffee and classic movies, taking pride in having watched every film on AFI’s 100 Greatest Films list and every Best Picture Oscar winner.

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