Only Christopher Nolan Can Save The James Bond Franchise
The next James Bond movie will either save the franchise, or kill it off for good.
At first glance, it might seem like 007 is healthy, but look again. Yes, when Daniel Craig's tenure as James Bond came to a close with 2021's "No Time to Die," it brought in a respectable $774 million at the global box office — but there's a built-in appeal to the notion of Craig's grand finale. Going forward, there's no guarantee the same audience comes back. In fact, the 007 franchise is in a precarious position. Unlike Marvel and Star Wars, which always seem to be present in the zeitgeist and recover quickly from any misfire, Bond only gets a movie once every three years, at most. Bond's problems magnify when you think about the dated nature of Bond as a concept, from the questionable elements of past Bond films to the fact that franchise tropes have become stereotypes.
On the surface, the next James Bond movie faces two big questions. First, who will take Craig's place? And second, will its next permutation continue the grounded, gritty tone of the 2006 "Casino Royale" reboot, or try something different?
Perhaps what producers should instead be asking is whether it's time to give a certain visionary director the reins.
Christopher Nolan is the one man who can rescue James Bond. Nolan is a surefire way to get audiences invested — and pull in new audiences — and the director has expressed his passion for the franchise before, even saying in an interview how he'd "definitely" work on a James Bond movie if the opportunity presented itself. If we don't want to see James Bond relegated to a 20th century footnote, Nolan is the one who can make him remake him for this era.
Christopher Nolan can prevent the James Bond franchise from falling into cultural obscurity
The James Bond franchise is currently on the edge of a cliff. A new actor and fresh start provides an opportunity to reinvigorate the series, but the wrong move could doom it to becoming a cultural artifact.
Narratively, every direction is risky. Carrying on the same grounded tone as the Daniel Craig movies may make them feel like cheap imitations, if done poorly. Alternatively, going in a completely different direction — for instance, returning to the goofy super-spy vibes of the Roger Moore 007 movies — could turn off audiences. The movie stands to get burned either way.
Christopher Nolan, though, has dealt with nearly this exact situation before — well before he was the box office force he is today. It's easy to forget, but Batman wasn't always such a universal cultural touchstone: the character's reputation was in the dirt following the poor reception to 1997's "Batman & Robin," with the character not receiving a big-screen adaptation until 2005's "Batman Begins." Going eight years without a Batman movie is unheard of in this day and age, where top superheroes are rebooted every other year, and much of the credit for Batman's 21st century revival goes to Nolan.
"Casino Royale" did the exact same thing when it followed up 2002's "Die Another Day," but now, Bond is again in need of new life and new ideas. Nolan is the perfect fit to get him back on track.
Christopher Nolan movies get people talking (& always make big bucks)
No franchise is safe in the current moviegoing landscape. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is no longer a safe bet. DC movies continue to flounder. Even big names like Indiana Jones aren't enough to guarantee people will show up at movie theaters. The same could very well hold true for James Bond, where people just don't turn out for him like they used to. However, that concern would be muted if Christopher Nolan is brought on board to direct.
Nolan is one of the few directors working today whose name alone puts people in seats. Just look at his three-hour biopic "Oppenheimer" getting close to the $1 billion mark and becoming one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies ever, among the likes of "Joker" and "Deadpool."
Nolan's movies make money. Of course, his "Dark Knight" trilogy was successful, but even original projects like "Interstellar" and "Inception" grossed $716 million and $836 million, respectively. The only major outlier is "Tenet," which grossed a more disappointing $365 million, but that came out in August 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was still in full swing. By and large, Nolan movies are big money makers, so his Bond movie would likely be a safe financial bet, even if it carried a hefty budget.
Plus, don't underestimate the non-Bond audience. Tons of viewers who never go to see 007 movies would go if it was branded as the new Christopher Nolan movie. This has the potential to create new fans who continue with this new iteration of Bond into the inevitable sequels.
Christopher Nolan keeps teasing his approach to James Bond in non-Bond movies
A studio just handing over the keys to a massive franchise on the scale of James Bond is a tall order, but Christopher Nolan is the closest thing to a sure bet there is these days. And if there's any reason to let him go wild in the spy universe, it's because he's basically been making Bond movies already.
When "Inception" came out in 2010, Empire interviewed Nolan (via The Playlist), and he expressed his fondness for 007 in no uncertain terms. "This is absolutely my Bond film," Nolan said of "Inception." He added, "I've been plundering ruthlessly from the Bond movies in everything I've done, forever. They're a huge influence on me."
In the same interview, he mentions his favorite Bond movie is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," so it's clear this is a man of taste. But it's easy to see the influence of the character on Nolan. In fact, the ski scene in "Inception" could've been ripped straight from the ski sequence in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." A plane becoming immobilized in "The Dark Knight Rises" looks remarkably similar to the plane heist in "License to Kill." Plus, you have a hero getting extracted via skyhook in both "The Dark Knight" and "Thunderball."
Nolan has basically spent his career making a pitch deck for an eventual Bond movie. He's intricately familiar with big budgets and coordinating giant set pieces that astound on a giant screen. If people will turn out to see a three-hour biopic on the creation of the atomic bomb from Nolan, they'll definitely want to see what he can do with James Bond.
A Christopher Nolan-directed James Bond movie could attract an A-list cast
James Bond movies attract the occasional big names, but if Christopher Nolan was involved, the cast would be stacked. He's worked with numerous leading men over the years, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, and John David Washington. Nolan's involvement opens up possibilities that would never be available otherwise. Want to see Leonardo DiCaprio play Bond, for instance? What about Christian Bale? Maybe either (or both) of them as villains? Whether you're intrigued or horrified, Nolan being at the helm makes it possible, and that's inherently exciting.
That's not even getting into how impressive the supporting cast would be. Robert Downey Jr., who starred in "Oppenheimer," told On Demand Entertainment about being offered the part, "Can you imagine if Chris Nolan called you and said he wants you to be in his movie? You kind of go numb and then you're just nodding your head." And that's Downey, one of the biggest actors of this era. Plenty of other actors would jump at the opportunity to work with Nolan, even without dipping into his usual favorites like Cillian Murphy.
There's one particular piece of casting we'd love to see. Michael Caine has been a mainstay of many of Nolan's films from "Batman Begins" to "Tenet." Caine stated in a 2023 interview with BBC Radio that he has retired from acting, but if he were to give one last hurrah, a Nolan Bond movie would be the perfect place. It wouldn't need to be a big role: just give audiences one last chance to see Caine on the big screen. The British actor being part of the preeminent British spy franchise would be a perfect closer on a stellar career, and given his affiliation with Nolan, it's entirely believable.
Christopher Nolan could bring sci-fi to Bond in a less silly way
Christopher Nolan was inspired by James Bond movies, and in turn, the Bond films have been inspired by his work. Remember in 2012's "Skyfall" how Silva (Javier Bardem) allows himself to be captured only for it to be revealed that was his grand plan all along? It's awfully similar to the Joker (Heath Ledger) in 2008's "The Dark Knight," where he also allows himself to be captured only for it to be revealed that was his grand plan all along. That's not even getting into how "Casino Royale" is basically just applying Nolan's "Batman Begins" formula to 007.
However, there's one way Nolan could make Bond his own without redoing "Casino Royale" or "Skyfall," and that's by tapping into the director's love of science fiction.
It's easy to forget with the Daniel Craig movies, but Bond used to be incredibly goofy. Just look at "Moonraker," which ends with a laser fight in space. Nolan won't be silly, but he could take more outlandish ideas like that and ground them in reality to create a stunning spectacle. Just take a look at how Nolan has employed tropes like space travel in "Interstellar" to time travel in "Tenet" to his exploration of dreaming in "Inception," and imagine one of these ideas finding a home in an actual Bond film.
This would ensure that the next James Bond isn't just a same ol', same ol' situation with a new actor in the tux. Nolan's Bond would be a whole new take, without going back on what's been established or taking him back to those goofy '70s sensibilities.
If nothing else, Christopher Nolan should direct a Bond movie because he clearly wants to. It wouldn't be solely a paycheck for him. He's passionate. And while he has his seemingly limitless choice of projects, 007 feels like something he'd jump at.