When you look at a filmmaker who is able to take a story like “Oppenheimer” and have it earn more than Marvel films over the past couple of years (seriously, “Oppenheimer” has earned $950 million globally), there’s no denying Christopher Nolan has an unending supply of director’s golden tickets. He can make anything he wants and studios will fight each other for the opportunity to pay for it. But even still, there are plenty of people (film fans and industry folks) who would like to see him make another ‘Dark Knight’-esque franchise movie. That would be the easiest billion dollars ever, right? While it doesn’t seem like Nolan has any interest in going back to superheroes, he’s not ruling out anything for his future. Well, as long as he can make it his own.
In a new profile at Variety, Christopher Nolan talked about the massive success of his most recent film, “Oppenheimer.” When the questions started to come about what is next, the filmmaker remained a bit coy, not really wanting to comment on anything specifically. That said, he’s not ruling anything out, even if that means returning to a franchise film.
“Ideas come from everywhere,” Nolan explained. “I’ve done a remake, I’ve made adaptations from comic books and novels, and I’ve written original screenplays. I’m open to anything. But as a writer and director, whatever I do, I have to feel like I own it completely. I have to make it original to me: The initial seed of an idea may come from elsewhere, but it has to go through my fingers on a keyboard and come out through my eyes alone.”
While you have to assume every studio would kill for Nolan to tackle a franchise film (he is forever mentioned as a possible James Bond director), it seems as if the filmmaker is only interested if he can craft something wholly himself. And to be fair, Nolan has absolutely earned that right. He doesn’t need franchise films to be the most popular director on the planet. He can make a three-hour biopic about a scientist who created the atomic bomb and outgross the newest “Guardians of the Galaxy” film.
But just because he’s open to the idea of a franchise film, don’t expect him to jump at a sequel or comic book movie anytime soon. If nothing else, the success of “Oppenheimer” and also “Barbie” has shown Nolan that there is a hunger from audiences for something original.
“It’s clear from the box office that audiences are looking for things they haven’t seen before,” Nolan said. “We’ve been through a period where it was wonderfully reassuring for studio executives to feel that their franchise properties could go on forever and be predictably successful. But you can’t deny filmgoers’ desire for novelty.”
So, no matter what comes next for Nolan, you have to assume it’s going to be something very, very Nolan-esque. Sorry, folks hoping he’ll take on “X-Men.”