The British director Christopher Nolan has been regularly linked to media rumours about him possibly helming a Bond movie, and his latest comments have inevitably reignited such speculation. Speaking while on a promotional tour of his latest film Oppenheimer, made it clear that he is not against such links being made.
Quizzed about the 007 franchise, Nolan said: ‘I love these movies. The influence of them on my filmography is embarrassingly apparent’. Asked whether he would consider directing a Bond film if the opportunity arose, he said: ‘It would be an amazing privilege to do one’.
There has been quite a history of Nolan Bond rumours. Back in May, 2013, for example, some interesting reports claimed that Nolan, the director of the Batman trilogy, had emerged as a possible candidate for being the director of James Bond movie no.24.
Many of the reports were based on a piece by the (now former) British showbiz journalist Baz Bamigboye in his celebrity gossip column in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper (May 17th, 2013), entitled ‘Dark Knight to rise for next Bond?’ Bamigboye had claimed in the Mail that Nolan had been approached to direct the next Bond movie, and informal talks had even been held between Nolan, his representatives, and the EON producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Bamigboye had commented that Nolan would be ‘a cool choice’ after Sam Mendes decided not to direct Bond 24 (Mendes changed his mind, of course, and Bond 24 became Spectre). Bamigboye also wrote in the Mail that it would be fascinating to see a film-maker of Nolan’s standing ‘build on what Mendes and the 007 gang has already done with Bond’. When he was the showbiz columnist at the Mail, Bamigboye had a fairly good track record on breaking Bond news stories, so his Nolan story was certainly taken seriously at the time.
The Latest Rumours
The latest (2023) rumours have, of course, been given legs by Nolan himself. And, remember, this all remains pure speculation, taken up by a media that is very thirsty for Bond news and good material to fill the headlines. However, the possibility of Chris Nolan helming Bond 26 would make much financial and creative sense for EON, would please the studios, and would put a big Bond enthusiast in charge of the next movie, ensuring some creative continuity between recent entries in the franchise and Nolan concerning the further evolution (or, more likely, reinvention) of James Bond. Moreover, Nolan has considerable experience at handling blockbuster movies.
There is no doubt that Nolan has good Bond ‘credentials’ and would embrace the challenge of directing a Bond adeventure with keen enthusiasm. He has stated in a number of past interviews that the 007 movies have been a particular influence on his own film work. In September, 2010, for example, while he was working on pre-production for the third Batman movie, he told one interviewer: ‘I’ve loved the Bond films since I was a kid. For me, they’re always about the expansiveness of cinema. The first Bond films set up infinite possibilities about the world they create. I’d love to do a Bond movie’. Similarly, speaking at an ‘Evening with’ event in New York in November, 2012, Nolan again acknowledged that James Bond had influenced his work, and he revealed that one of the first movies he ever saw was The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
All in all, it is thus no surprise that Nolan has thrown his hat into the ring if EON are interested.
