The rumors that Christopher Nolan was considered one of the main candidates to direct the next 007 movie are not new — but now there are interesting details about why he turned down the job.
According to Variety, the negotiations fell through because the franchise’s longtime producer, Barbara Broccoli «, despised Nolan’s» and refused to give him creative freedom, as well as access to «the final cut». The director eventually canceled the deal and took on «Oppenheimer’s» — and apparently did not lose, as the film grossed almost $1 billion in global box office and received «Oscar».
Rumors of total control over the franchise by the producers have been circulating for a long time — and eventually led to the following Broccoli and her colleague Michael Wilson gave «the creative reins» to Amazon MGM Studios
Amazon acquired MGM Studios in 2022, along with a large catalog of more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV shows, as well as the distribution rights to all James Bond films. According to rumors, Barbara alone received about $1 billion for her departure.
As for Nolan, he has long said that he would not mind trying his hand at Bond:
«The influence of these films on my filmography is stunningly obvious», — said director on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in July 2023. «And so I make no attempt to evade it».
As well as the director «Dunes» Denis Villeneuve. The one claimed that making a Bond movie — is «his longtime dream». In fact, the involvement of at least one of them would definitely not harm the franchise and would probably breathe new life into it.
At the moment, Villeneuve is carefully is working on the third «Dune»while Nolan focuses on film adaptations «Odyssey» Homer with Matt Damon in the lead role and a bunch of other stars in the supporting cast. Both films are expected to be released in 2026, although in Nolan’s case, the date seems more likely, given the start of filming and the appearance of the first shot.
The last James Bond movie, «007: No Time to Die» starring Daniel Craig, was released in 2021 and earned $775 million. Since then, there have been no official announcements about production timelines or a new actor, but late last year, producers noted that the role of looking for a man 30+, and possibly black (he will play the character for the next 10 years).
Interestingly, after the announcement that Amazon had gained creative control over the franchise, the company’s CEO Jeff Bezos launched a poll on social media about a new actor for the role of 007 — and fans expectedly bombarded the post proposals to elect former Superman and Witcher Henry Cavill. The actor had tried out for the role of 007 in the past, but was too young for the role at the time, as noted by the director of «Casino Royale» Martin Campbell.
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