Ever since Christopher Nolan won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director for his blockbuster historical drama “Oppenheimer” (four words you rarely read together), the entire film industry has been keeping a close eye on the filmmaker's next move. Nolan's creative options have always driven speculation within the business, but not just about what he'll do next this time around. Where He will do it.
For nearly a decade, this was not a concern. After his breakthrough neo-noir masterpiece “Memento” made him one of Hollywood's hottest young directors, Christopher Nolan made his studio debut “Insomnia” at Warner Bros. and called the big house in Burbank his home for more than a decade. What changed? In 2020, the Covid pandemic and WB production chief Jason Giler's decision to release the company's entire slate day-and-date for the year in theaters and on its HBO Max streaming service through his Project Popcorn initiative.
Nolan burned Giler and WB at the time, saying, “Some of the biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars in our industry went to bed at night thinking they were working for the biggest movie studio, and woke up to find they were working crappy jobs. streaming service.” Nolan's 2020 film “Tenet” got a full theatrical release on August 26 that year after several delays, but the public's reluctance to sit in theaters as millions continued to die from Covid-19 crippled its box office.
Regardless of Kiler's reasoning, Nolan was furious and took his next project, “Oppenheimer,” to Universal. After Giller's exit, Warner Bros. Discovery honcho David Zaslau and the studio's new production heads, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdi, launched a charm offensive to bring Nolan back into the fold. Alas, last week Nolan announced that his next feature would be in development at Universal. Does this mean the director is done with WB for good?
Can WB ever bring Nolan home?
Nolan swears this is not the case. In a November 2023 interview with Variety, the filmmaker stated that his animus with his former home studio was “water under the bridge” and that he was “absolutely” open to returning to WB under new management. But he's currently sticking with Universal (believed to be an adaptation of Patrick McGoohan's classic sci-fi TV series “The Prisoner,” which he's been in development for years), and if the latest report is true, it's not hard to see why.
According to industry insider outlet Puck, Luca convinced Zasla to cut Nolan a seven-figure check as a sign of good faith. Really? It's not like De Luca, who has long been known as one of the most talent-friendly executives in the business (until he shepherded PT Anderson's career at New Line in the late 1990s); If he wanted to send a goodwill message to Nolan, a seven-figure donation to Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project would have made more sense. Or maybe he convinced Zasla to finish and publish it. Still scripted movies like “Batgirl” and “Coyote vs. Acme” are on hold.
De Luca and Abdi and Anderson and M. He's managed to close deals with guys like Night Shyamalan, but Zaslav's presence at the top is still a source of concern for many A-list directors. Some directors think he can't be trusted, so they're waiting to see how he handles Anderson's latest film, especially after the historic failure of his personally acclaimed “Joker: Folly a Deux.” Zaslav is known for his pettiness and pride. Nolan's romantic relationship with Universal boss Donna Langley is said to be a factor, and the timing didn't seem right for WB Homecoming.
