Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was a Sony movie, so seeing Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth return on the Netflix streaming release schedule has been a little confusing. Sony distributed Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film, watched Pitt win an Oscar for playing the laid-back stuntman and seemingly had every reason to keep the character’s next adventure in-house. Instead, David Fincher’s follow-up The Adventures of Cliff Booth is heading to IMAX before landing on the streaming service. So why is it headed to streaming, anyway?Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman finally explained the studio swap during a recent interview with Variety. According to Rothman, Sony planned to make the 2026 calendar release while Tarantino was attached to direct his own script. As he put it: Because David Fincher is exclusive to Netflix. We were going to make the movie when Quentin [Tarantino] was directing it, but he decided that he didn’t want to do it and changed course. The only other person that he was comfortable directing his script was David Fincher, and David Fincher was exclusive to Netflix, so we were not going to stand in anybody’s way.That clears up the biggest mystery. Sony did not simply lose a bidding war or decide it had grown tired of Cliff Booth cruising around Los Angeles. Tarantino changed his mind about directing, Fincher became the only acceptable replacement and Fincher’s relationship with Netflix determined where the project could happen.The pairing makes plenty of sense beyond the business logistics. Fincher and Pitt have worked together on some of the filmmaker's best films: Se7en, Fight Club and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Tarantino handed the character to a filmmaker who already has decades of history with the actor playing him.Still, Rothman did not pretend he was delighted to watch the project leave Sony. When the outlet asked whether he was disappointed that the studio would not release the sequel, his answer was impressively direct:Yes.I cannot blame him. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood earned more than $377 million worldwide and received 10 Academy Award nominations. Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Cliff, making the character an especially valuable piece of the original film’s legacy.(Image credit: Netflix)Sony’s decision not to block the move's production also appears to have preserved its relationship with Tarantino. Forcing the project to remain at the studio without the director he wanted would likely have left everyone unhappy and the screenplay sitting on a shelf. At least this way Rothman may be disappointed, but the movie exists.In The Adventures of Cliff Booth, Pitt returns to the role in a story set in 1977, several years after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. This time, he will be navigating a very different version of the movie business. The supporting cast also includes Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Peter Weller and Corey Fogelmanis. Fincher directs from Tarantino’s screenplay, with Pitt producing alongside Ceán Chaffin.Netflix is giving the film a larger theatrical launch than many of its originals. It will begin an exclusive two-week run in IMAX theaters on Nov. 25 before becoming available with a Netflix subscription on Dec. 23.