Christopher Nolan Hasn’t Ruled Out Directing a James Bond Movie

The director is keeping his options open

Christopher Nolan
Nolan. Christopher Nolan.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Pictures

There’s a lot that’s mysterious about the future of the James Bond franchise — starting with who the next actor to play the iconic secret agent will be and going from there. Given that the last few Bond films have also featured particularly big names in the director’s chair — including Oscar winner Sam Mendes for both Skyfall and Spectre — it’s also logical to wonder if the next era of Bond films will follow suit.

As directors currently working today go, few have had the blend of critical and commercial success in recent years that Christopher Nolan has achieved. And it turns out that Nolan isn’t averse to the idea of entering the world of 007.

As The Hollywood Reporter revealed in a recent article, Nolan shared his thoughts on making a Bond film during an appearance on the podcast Happy Sad Confused. He also made clear his opinion that — for any filmmaker — the circumstances would have to be right in order for the film to work.

“It has to be the right moment in your creative life where you can express what you want to express and really burrow into something within the appropriate constraints,” Nolan said.

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The recent history of the Bond films has made that clear — it hasn’t been that long since director Danny Boyle walked away from making the 25th Bond movie due to an issue over the screenplay.

One assumes that Nolan has at least some inkling of the added challenges of making a film about a character who’s been popular for decades. In the interview, he also addressed the franchise’s impact on his own work. “The influence of those movies on my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. And so there’s no attempt to shy away from that,” Nolan said on the podcast. “I love the films.”

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