When the news was released that WarnerMedia decided to shift the entire 2021 Warner Bros. film slate to a day-and-date deal with HBO Max and theaters, the reaction from filmmakers came quickly. And perhaps surprisingly, the biggest backlash came from WB’s own cherished director, Christopher Nolan, who questioned the ethics of a company that would treat filmmakers so poorly. Well, it appears that Nolan is willing to put his money where his mouth is and walk away from his long-time studio.
READ MORE: Christopher Nolan Still Upset Over WB/HBO Max Drama: “It’s A Question Of Ethics”
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Nolan is “unlikely” to work with Warner Bros. in the future based in part on the decision by WarnerMedia to release films directly in theaters and HBO Max on the same day. It’s unclear how that might affect projects he currently has in development, but if true, it’s a massive blow to WB, who banks on Nolan films for their box office appeal.
It can’t be understated how deep the relationship between Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan has been over the past two decades. The last film that the director released without Warner Bros. helping was 2001’s “Memento.” Yes, it’s been 20 years that Nolan and WB have been in partnership with films, and over that time, they’ve released massive films like the ‘Dark Knight’ Trilogy, “Interstellar,” “Dunkirk,” and “Inception.” The 2020 film, “Tenet,” was released last year during the pandemic because WB believed so much in Nolan being able to bring audiences to theaters.
But after the decision to shift films to HBO Max, largely without talking to any filmmakers before making the announcement, Nolan has been on the front lines against the studio. It’s no secret that Nolan is a huge supporter of the theatrical experience, and now that WB has shown that it will not blink at the idea of taking a blockbuster like “Dune” or “Wonder Woman 1984” and distribute it on HBO Max, it shouldn’t be that shocking that Nolan would rather take his next feature to a studio that would guarantee theatrical release.
Of course, with anything related to Christopher Nolan and his future projects, we likely won’t hear any confirmation one way or another about WB’s involvement until closer to production start time. But if true, this could be the most expensive loss for WarnerMedia since the controversial announcement last year.