Christopher Nolan is a big James Bond fan, and the filmmaker makes no secret of that. The director, who is one of the few whose name alone has an appealing effect on the audience – it is not without reason that ‘Oppenheimer’ was eagerly awaited by film fans despite the rather dry subjects – also repeatedly said that he would like to a “James “Bond” movie was going to be directed.
Recently, rumors have increased that Nolan’s desire for the upcoming “James Bond26“can become reality. After all, this film aims to take the franchise in a completely new direction following the departure of Daniel Craig, so having a high-profile filmmaker with a reputation among audiences in the director’s chair can’t hurt.
Christopher Nolan takes a stand
But now, Nolan has dashed his fans’ hopes that he will make his mark on ‘James Bond’ in the near future. As part of the promotional tour for the home theater release of “Oppenheimer,” he responded to the Associated Press (via ) when asked if his next project could be “James Bond”: “No, unfortunately not. There is no truth in these rumors.”
That sounds like a pretty clear rejection, right? Of course there is always a glimmer of hope. On the one hand, Nolan could direct a ‘Bond’ film at a later date, as he often emphasizes that this would be his wish and also: never say never. And then of course there’s also the possibility that Nolan was lying at the time. This is not uncommon in the industry when actors and filmmakers are asked about their future projects, but they are contractually obligated not to say anything about these projects or any negotiations.
Nolan’s demands may be the heart of the matter
Still, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Nolan isn’t in the director’s chair for “Bond 26.” Even though the rumors have increased lately and even contain more and more concrete information (among other things, there was talk of directing 2 or 3 “Bond” films, and it was also said that Nolan wanted to direct a “retro Bond” set in the 1950s), there was much that spoke against the director’s involvement.
This is what Christopher Nolan would do with a 007 adventure, just like with his previous films want to have complete creative control – and that’s not easy for a film that’s part of a highly regulated franchise led by a powerful producer, Barbara Broccoli, who actually makes the decisions.
Moreover, the majority of the rights to future ‘Bond’ adventures are owned by Amazon, which still wants to bring the spy campaigners to cinemas, but certainly with a faster timely and perhaps even initially only exclusive evaluation Prime Video will probably flirt – quite a no-go for Nolan, who acts as a champion of cinema and physical media, as evidenced by his highly dedicated press tour for the home theater release “Oppenheimer.” By the way, FILMSTARTS editor Björn Becher met Nolan for interviews in Los Angeles: