On the weekend, I wrote an opinion piece about how Amazon/ MGM should approach Christopher Nolan about potentially directing a James Bond movie. According to a new report by Variety, the director was open to possibly helming a 007 movie shortly after the release of Tenet but was subbed by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Why? According to the report, it was because Nolan, as fits his stature, wanted final cut, and the 007 producers absolutely would not relinquish it to him – as no director in the franchise’s history has ever had a final cut.
Indeed, the report retreads a few old stories, such as how Steven Spielberg wanted to make a 007 movie in the seventies but wasn’t given the green light by Albert R. Broccoli. Spielberg famously took the ideas he had for James Bond and put them into Raiders of the Lost Ark, so it can’t be denied that things worked out OK for him. Indeed, Nolan’s career didn’t exactly suffer after Bond fell through, with him going on to direct his most acclaimed film to date, Oppenheimer.
This news is not surprising, as the Broccolis, perhaps rightly, always considered the franchise bigger than its director. Throughout most of the franchise’s history, they tended to favour workmanlike English directors like John Glen, Michael Apted, Terrence Young, and others. However, in the Daniel Craig era, things started to change, with Martin Campbell being rehired – he had directed Goldeneye but became an A-list director in Hollywood after The Mask of Zorro. Sam Mendes was also an Oscar-winning director who certainly put his stamp on the franchise with Skyfall and SPECTRE, and Cary Fukunaga arguably did the same with No Time To Die, although apparently none of them had a final cut.
That said, it’s still too bad Nolan hasn’t gotten the chance to put his own stamp on the franchise, as he’s a major fan. I’ll never forget meeting him at a party for Dunkirk and chatting with him for a bit about our shared love of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Hopefully, one day, we’ll see a Nolan Bond movie after all!
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