He can be cast as an adult now! The Gray Man (2022) had a 33 year old as the director of the CIA. Jacob Tremblay can easily be cast as a 30-40 year old character.
Personally I like it when QT helps resurrect faded stars, like he did with Travolta and Grier. It would be interesting to see how he could use actors like Kathleen Turner, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Matt Dillon etc.
That said I’m not convinced the next QT film will be his last anyway.
I'll add some more to your interesting list. Some would need to appear in wheelchairs.
Chris Barnes
Gary Busey
Mel Gibson
Gene Hackman (92 years old!)
Kevin Costner
TK Carter
Chuck Norris
Edward Norton
Johnny Depp
John Cusack
Among these, I think Johnny Depp would be the most interesting. He was about as big as stars get, but thanks to his reclusiveness and the ex-wife drama he would make a mighty interesting screen presence in a QT film.
Samuel L. Jackson as the lead would be who I'd like to see. I know he mostly got this with Hateful Eight, but I'd like to see him step up to that plate again.
If it truly is Tarantino's last, I think he should get back all of his main people:
Samuel L. Jackson
Michael Madsen
Uma Thurman
Harvey Keitel
Tim Roth
Christoph Waltz
John Travolta
Pam Grier
Robert DeNiro
Michael Keaton
Kurt Russell
Brad Pitt
Diane Kruger
Jamie Foxx
Leo DiCaprio
Bruce Dern
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Walton Goggins
Al Pacino
Timothy Olyphant
Margot Robbie...
...just ALL of them who ever starred in a QT.
Sadly, Laurence Tierney and Robert Forster are dead, and Bruce Willis can never work again...but then in his first scene in Pulp Fiction, he didn't say a word so...maybe?
Of your list, only Cate Blanchett is someone I'd like to see in his final film. Of actors he's not yet worked with, I'd be interested to see what he could do with Ryan Gosling, Vince Vaughn, Sam Rockwell, Gal Gadot, Florence Pugh, Oliver Platt, or Mel Gibson, and maybe have Gene Hackman sneak out of retirement for a tiny cameo a la Bruce Dern in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
All the actors you listed would definitely be interesting to watch in a Tarantino film.
In particular, Ryan Gosling and Sam Rockwell I think would be super cool.
I'd like to see QT direct Michael Biehn as the lead in a heroic role. I wonder if QT has it in him to create an interesting heroic character who isn't drenched in self-irony and endless witticisms.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Brad Pitt
Margot Robbie
Emile Hirsch
Margaret Qualley
Julia Butters
Austin Butler
Just kidding! I read today that QT was (probably jokingly) considering having OUATIH be his last movie. I think that if that ends up being the case, it would be a wonderful ending.
100 percent agree with this, i think he's shot himself in the foot a little by making a big thing of doing one more, OUATIH just feels like the perfect way to go out, the previous 3/4 while good weren't on par with the first three but this one was, it has a finale feel to it as well.
I don't think Di Caprio or Pitt will ever be as good or in as good a film again, their is something very bittersweet about OUATIH that feels like the last classic film we will ever get, hope i am wrong
I saw it when it came out and liked it but nothing crazy.
Then i watched it pissed with my brother 3 days ago and then watched it again last night by myself, i haven't done that for years and there is just something about it now that i can't get out of my head.
I have even just bought the audiobook so i can get in deeper, it's funny now how so many give this stick because there is nothing going on but there is so much going on
As a kid who lived through his career (i saw Res dog at 8, and snuck in to see Jackie Brown at 9)
I thought he dipped post Kill Bill just a bit but in comparison, but this last one Could very well be my favourite