Christopher Nolan on Returning to a Big Franchise After Oppenheimer: “I’m Open to Anything”

On paper, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer could have been considered an embrace of an intimate story as compared to some of his more bombastic outings, only for the R-rated biopic to go on to earn nearly $1 billion worldwide. This means that, while some audiences might expect Nolan to pivot into something more spectacular and escapist for his next project, he seemingly hasn’t decided what his next project will be, which also means he’s not ruling out either an action-oriented project in an established franchise or pursuing something more emotionally driven. As Oppenheimer continues to break records at the box office, it’s possible that Nolan might not announce his next project for the foreseeable future.

“Ideas come from everywhere,” Nolan recently explained to Variety. “I’ve done a remake, I’ve made adaptations from comic books and novels, and I’ve written original screenplays. I’m open to anything. But as a writer and director, whatever I do, I have to feel like I own it completely. I have to make it original to me: The initial seed of an idea may come from elsewhere, but it has to go through my fingers on a keyboard and come out through my eyes alone.” 

While Nolan’s earliest films, Following and Memento, were intimate mysteries, he was quick to find success in a major franchise, thanks to Batman Begins. Not only was this 2005 reinvention of the Caped Crusader a hit, but its sequels The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises were even bigger hits with audiences and critics, a benchmark that DC is still trying to replicate. Given his connection to comic book movies, and Batman specifically, Nolan was quite careful about not offering too much insight into a return to comics or thoughts on Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

When asked if he has even seen The Batman, Nolan deflected, “If I start talking about comic book movies, that would be the only thing anybody pays any attention to in the article.”

Whatever the filmmaker might tackle next, his various successes in virtually all cinematic realms mean audiences will show up to see anything he aims to explore. Given the grim and dour subject matter of Oppenheimer, though, fans would likely wish to see his next film have a bit more escapism.

Stay tuned for updates on Nolan’s next project.

What would you like to see next from the filmmaker? Let us know in the comments!