Christopher Nolan left the Oscars with a host of prestigious awards: what will the director work on next?
Over the past 25 years, a name has quietly established itself in the sphere of cinema: that of Christopher Nolan, a talented filmmaker who has directed numerous feature films with a solid reputation.
The spirals of memory in Memento, the sleight of hand requiring great sacrifices in The Prestige, the French shores of Dunkirk in the middle of a world war, the travels in space and time with Interstellar… nothing seems to stop the author, always in search of subjects as tortuous as they are philosophical.
Many were confused by the spinning top of Inception, the cold vision of the Batman character redefined the superhero genre in cinema, and Oppenheimer raided the 2024 Oscars: it’s impossible to deny the fact that the director’s impact is major on the seventh art. And then, what will Christopher Nolan’s next film be?
What is Christopher Nolan’s next film?
At this stage, the director has not yet clearly defined his next feature film. Because one of the author’s traits is the fact of taking his time: his career spans more than two decades, but he has actually only signed 12 films during this period, where others do not hesitate to release a production every year, if not more.
However, it remains possible to make assumptions. Thus, in a portrait drawn up by Variety, if Nolan did not tease a specific project, he still explained that he remained open to any type of story, as long as it remained his own:
“Ideas come from everywhere. I’ve done a remake, I’ve directed adaptations of comics and novels, and I’ve written original screenplays. I am open to everything. But as a writer and director, whatever I do, I have to feel like I have complete control over it. I have to make it my own: the initial seed of the idea can come from elsewhere, but it must pass through my fingers on a keyboard and emerge only according to my vision.”
For the New York Times, the director also explained: “When I give interviews for a new film that’s coming out, I always get asked what I’m going to do next. And the answer is always the same. For me, I do one thing at a time and obsessively focus on it until the film is finished. And then, I like to say that it’s the audience who puts an end to the film.”
Oppenheimer was released, received a warm reception, and won seven Oscar awards: we can therefore estimate that Christopher Nolan’s project is well and truly finished. However, the director has no intention of retiring. Theories are therefore rife for the rest of his filmography.
Predictions on Christopher Nolan’s next film
Although nothing concrete has yet been announced by the director, it is possible to look to Christopher Nolan’s past. More precisely, towards three projects which have not yet seen the light of day.
If rumors persisted for a long time about a James Bond film which would allow the director to recreate the British hero in his own way, Nolan ended up dispelling the misunderstanding. Indeed, in an interview for the Associated Press (AP) available on YouTube, when asked about his participation in a production marked 007, the Oscar-winning filmmaker simply replied: “No, unfortunately, no. There is no truth in these rumors.”
Don’t panic: other films could also pass through the creator’s hands.
A Howard Hughes biopic
Following the release of Insomnia in 2002, Christopher Nolan began writing a biopic centered on Howard Hughes, the iconic business mogul.
This name may ring a bell with you, and rightly so: Leonardo DiCaprio has already embodied fame in Martin Scorsese’s Aviator… a film released in 2005, which convinced Christopher Nolan to abandon the idea of his own version of business man.
According to the director, who spoke to The Daily Beast while promoting Interstellar in 2017, his script focused on the latter part of the life of Howard Hughes, then reclusive to face his problems with his addiction alone. health. Jim Carrey was considered for the role, but Scorsese and DiCaprio dashed Nolan’s hopes.
“I literally said to myself, ‘Damn,'” the director recalls of the news that Aviator was going into production, before explaining: “I think it’s the best script I’ve ever had. ever written, it was a truly wonderful experience. Yes, it was frustrating that the other movie came to fruition. Will I revisit it? No idea. […] I don’t necessarily rule out the idea, but it’s been a long time since I wrote it.”
The Keys to the Street
After his Howard Hughes biopic failed, Christopher Nolan was briefly attached to direct an adaptation of Ruth Rendell’s novel The Keys to the Street, the plot of which follows a woman’s investigation into the murders sordid events of several homeless people, killed and impaled in a London park.
The project was owned by Fox Searchlight and starred Gemma Arterton as Mary Jago. But the director finally decided to jump ship. “I think the script is very good,” he expressed on a fans site (in comments reported by Collider) before specifying: “But I don’t think I want to shoot it right away. I guess another director will do it. It’s a really cool script, but it shares a lot in common with the three films I’ve done, so maybe it’s not the right time for me.”
The Prisonner
Probably one of the most interesting subjects: originally a series first broadcast in 1967, The Prisoner (or The Prisonner) follows a British intelligence agent who is kidnapped and taken to a strange coastal village, from where no one escapes alive.
In 2009, the story was given a remake with Jim Caviezel, which, however, did not convince the critics.
The story is mysterious and rich in twists and turns, and seems to have caught the eye of the filmmaker, as he told IGN in 2006 : “The Prisoner has interested me for quite some time, and I think I have found the perfect angle to tackle it.”
At the time, Christopher Nolan was indeed attached to the project supposed to bring the hero back to the cinema, but producer Barry Mendel then announced that the filmmaker had withdrawn. If Ridley Scott seemed to have replaced him in the meantime, there has been no news for a long time on the adaptation of The Prisoner series.
During a July 2023 appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast while promoting Oppenheimer, the question of his participation in the film The Prisoner came up again.
But Christopher Nolan preferred not to reveal too much, to focus on his current film and future big winner of the 2024 Oscars: “I won’t say anything about what I’m going to do next… because the truth is that I haven’t decided on anything yet.”
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