Director Christopher Nolan (left) and producer Emma Thomas at the premiere for the film 'Oppenheimer' on July 13, 2023 in London. Photo: AP
The name could be Nolan. Christopher Nolan.
The celebrated Oppenheimer and Inception director just reiterated that he's open to directing an instalment of the iconic James Bond franchise, calling such an opportunity "an amazing privilege."
"I love those movies. The influence of those movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent. There's no attempt to shy away from that," Nolan said in an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "It would be an amazing privilege to do one."
However, the British filmmaker – who addressed speculation about his involvement in 007's world back in 2017 – again hesitated about going all in just yet, noting that when directors take on a character or legacy franchise as renowned as 007, they have to be "working with a particular set of constraints."
"You have to have the right attitude towards that. 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," he told host podcast Josh Horowitz.
The five-time Oscar nominee explained that he felt a similar responsibility when he adapted Batman for the Dark Knight trilogy back in the late aughts.
"You wouldn't want to take on a film not being fully committed to what you bring to the table creatively. So as a writer, casting – everything – it's a full package," he said.
"But I sort of stand with my previous answer: 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."
For years, the Batman Begins and Memento director has been in talks to take over the 007 franchise, which has been helmed by Terence Young, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Guy Hamilton, Sam Mendes and John Glen, among others.
In 2017, Nolan told Playboy that he would "definitely" be interested in directing the movies and has had an open dialogue with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
"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."
Meanwhile, the future lead of the franchise is still unknown to fans: Daniel Craig, who most recently played the enigmatic super-spy, announced his departure from the franchise after five films.
Rumours have swirled that Idris Elba and Henry Cavill might fill the role, but the latest front-runner rumoured to play Ian Fleming's literary sleuth is English actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who stars in Nocturnal Animals, Bullet Train and the upcoming Kraven The Hunter. (However, production and additional details are likely to be further impeded by the dual Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes currently hampering Hollywood studios.)
Sean Connery launched the blockbuster James Bond franchise as the charismatic secret agent in 1963's Dr. No, and George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan have since embodied the character.
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