Christopher Nolan is one of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors. The veteran filmmaker is coming off Oppenheimer, a historical biopic about the man who became the face of The Manhattan Project. The project is Nolan's first since 2020's time-bending thriller Tenet.
Nolan has been able to bring his visual mastery and complex storytelling to a wide range of genres. Often serving as a director and writer, he is behind everything from Memento to Interstellar to The Dark Knight trilogy. However, one genre Nolan has never directly touched is espionage. Furthermore, it's something that came up in a recent interview with Josh Horowitz.
Nolan Weighs Pros And Cons Of Directing Bond
During their conversation about Oppenheimer, Horowitz jokingly offered Nolan a $20 bet that Nolan would helm the next James Bond film. The long-running spy franchise is currently in production limbo after Daniel Craig vacated the role after 2021's No Time To Die. Long-time Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has previously stated that the 26th Bond film won't begin shooting until at least 2024. Meanwhile, a new James Bond is yet to be named. However, names such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Richard Madden have been floated as possibilities. As for a director, all we know so far is that Sam Mendes, who directed Skyfall and Spectre, recently declined an offer to direct a third film in the franchise.
“I love those movies,” Nolan said. “The influence of those movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent, so there's no attempt to shy away from that. I love the films and it would be an amazing privilege to do one. At the same time, when you take on a character like that or work like that, you're working within a particular set of constraints, and so you have to have the right attitude towards that — it has to be the right moment in your creative life where you can express what you want to express." Aside from his foray into Batman, Nolan has always told the stories that have interested him, as opposed to continuing in a set universe with lore and rules. It would be interesting to see what he did if actually opportunity to take on the spy genre staple.
[via]