‘Oppenheimer’ Director Christopher Nolan Says He’d Love To Make A James Bond Movie
“You know, it would be an amazing privilege to do one.”
Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan has lately been gushing about the James Bond film franchise and declaring it would be an “amazing privilege” to direct a 007 movie.
While speaking with host Josh Horowitz for a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Nolan said he’d jump at the opportunity if presented at the “right moment.”
“The influence of those movies on my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. And so there’s no attempt to shy away from that. I love the films,” Nolan said. “You know, it would be an amazing privilege to do one.”
But the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception noted that when working on a movie spin-off of the iconic British spy franchise, “you’re working within a particular set of constraints” and any director would have to approach it with the “right attitude.”
“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 because you would never want to take on something like that and do it wrong,” Nolan said.
Nolan added that if he took on James Bond—surely the biggest franchise since his Batman movies—he would require plenty of creative freedom.
“You wouldn’t want to take on a film not fully committed to what you bring to the table creatively. So as a writer, casting, everything, it’s a full package,” he said.
“You’d have to be really needed, you’d have to be really wanted in terms of bringing the totality of what you bring to a character. Otherwise, I’m very happy to be first in line to see whatever they do.”
Per the Hollywood Reporter, Nolan previously said in a 2017 interview with Playboy that he has been in talks with “producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson over the years” and would “definitely” be down to take on a film in the Bond franchise.
“I deeply love the character, and I’m always excited to see what they do with it,” he said at the time. “Maybe one day that would work out. You’d have to be needed, if you know what I mean. It has to need reinvention; it has to need you. And they’re getting along very well.”
The boffo box office of Oppenheimer should only help make the case that Nolan would be an excellent choice to helm a future 007 installment. As of July 25, Oppenheimer has made over $215 million, while it’s “Barbieheimer” companion Barbie has topped $425 million globally.