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Now that Amazon/MGM has acquired the James Bond franchise, there’s a growing consensus that Christopher Nolan should be tapped to direct future productions.
An article in The Wrap quotes an unnamed “top franchise producer” as speculating that Amazon has already been in touch with Nolan owing to a “strong mutual desire to make it happen.”
Nolan himself says he is ready and willing to be involved in any future Bond projects. In July of 2023, he was quoted by the Happy Sad Confused podcast as saying: “The influence of [the James Bond] movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent…And so there’s no attempt to shy away from that. I love the films. You know, it would be an amazing privilege to do one. 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.”
Around that time, Nolan had been speaking with franchise ex-bigwig Barbara Broccoli about directing two new Bond films. but Broccoli refused to allow him to have the freedom to exercise the creative control he wanted. Broccoli is no longer calling the shots, so it appears that Nolan may ultimately achieve his goals under the Amazon/MGM umbrella.
As another anonymous producer told The Wrap: “If Amazon wants to preserve the legacy, they should do everything possible to get Chris Nolan and wait for him as long as needed.”
At the moment, Nolan is hard at work on a film version of The Odyssey, a cinematic interpretation of the ancient Greek epic that is slated for release in July of 2026. The director prefers to concentrate on one project at a time, so it’s unlikely that a deal will be soon be made about any Bond film.
Nolan’s films have earned over $6.6 billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing film director. The British American director has won two Oscars, a Golden Globe award, and two British Academy Film Awards.