Eleven years after the end of his Batman trilogy, does Christopher Nolan want to make a superhero film again? The director bluntly answers the question he was asked during the promotion of “Oppenheimer”, his new opus.
Expected this Wednesday, July 19, Oppenheimer is the twelfth film directed by Christopher Nolan in the space of a quarter of a century. A figure that Quentin Tarantino should not reach, since he plans to stop at ten and that The Movie Critic would therefore be his last opus.
And this while Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott, whose next films will be released at the end of the year, continue to shoot at more than 80 years old. The question of retirement being topical (and not only in the world of cinema), Christopher Nolan was entitled to it during the promotion of his new feature film, devoted to the creator of the atomic bomb.
“To be honest, I understand both points of view [sur la retraite ou non]”he answers in the podcast of CinemaBlend. “Storytelling in movies is addictive. It takes a lot of work, but it’s fun. You feel pressured to do it, so it’s kind of hard to imagine stopping on purpose.”
Universal Pictures Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer”
“But, on the other hand, I see… Quentin was always very clear about that. He never, very graciously, specified which films he was talking about, but he looked at the work of certain late directors and feels that if he can’t live up to his golden age, [ces derniers longs métrages] shouldn’t exist. I think that’s a very pure point of view. That of a cinephile who attaches great value to the history of cinema.”
It must be said that Christopher Nolan admits not being “certain of [se] trust completely when judging whether a job should exist or not”he who admits to being “a big fan” of these opuses which “do not fully accomplish what they are trying to do” : “I think I would like to keep a perfect reputation, but I’m not ruling anything out.”
Storytelling in movies is addictive
Not even to reconnect with the universe of superheroes, which led him to the heights of Hollywood thanks to Batman Begins and – above all – its sequels, The Dark Knight in mind? This is the question that the French YouTuber Hugo Decrypts asked him during his visit to Paris. And the answer has the merit of being clear: “No !”
The same way he pulls out his joker (no pun intended) when asked if he’d like to direct a Star Wars movie. But his remarks on superheroes are in line with those he has been making since 2012 and the release of The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final installment in his trilogy on the Batman.
While, at the same time, Christian Bale assures that he will not play Batman again unless Christopher Nolan offers it to him, the latter’s latest response should allow the subject to be closed. Until his next film?