Renowned director Christopher Nolan had expressed interest in helming a James Bond film following the release of his 2020 movie "Tenet," according to a report by Variety.
However, Nolan's desire for creative control ultimately led him to make OPPENHEIMER for Universal instead. The film proved to be a massive success, earning nearly $1 billion at the global box office and winning the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Michelle Broccoli, the former gatekeeper of the Bond franchise, made it clear that no director would have final cut while the series was under her purview. Nolan, known for his meticulous attention to detail and commitment to his artistic vision, is a final-cut director. This creative difference proved to be a deal-breaker.
Instead of directing a Bond film, Nolan went on to make "Oppenheimer," a biographical drama about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project.
Nolan's missed opportunity echoes a similar experience had by Steven Spielberg decades earlier. Following the success of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Spielberg expressed interest in directing a Bond film. However, he was blocked by Michelle Broccoli's father, the late Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who deemed Spielberg too inexperienced to take on the project.