Christopher Nolan, the visionary director behind "The Dark Knight" trilogy and "Inception," has never been shy about expressing his love for the James Bond franchise. While his interest in the franchise has never materialized into an actual film, that doesn't mean that he's ruling the possibility out completely.
Director Sam Mendes, who helmed "Spectre" and "Skyfall," has confirmed that he will be leaving the franchise, leaving a definitive void that will need to be filled behind the camera. Star Daniel Craig may or may not follow. Coincidentally, the rights for the series will be up for sale soon which means Sony could lose them to, say, Warner Bros. where Nolan has a great working relationship after seven successful collaborations.
Of course, Nolan wouldn't come right out and admit that he'd jump at the chance to direct a Bond film. But his positive opinion of the series hasn't changed at all in recent years.
"It's a great franchise, and I grew up absolutely loving it," Nolan said on BBC's Newsnight last month. "They seem to be doing fine without me."
Host Sam Smith rightly pointed out that that answer was "not a no," to which Nolan replied, "It's not a no, but it's not a yes." Tit-for-tat.
We can safely rule out a Nolan-directed Bond film on the immediate horizon. Deadline reported back in September that the blockbuster filmmaker had lined up a mystery project at WB set for a July 21, 2017 release. While some rumors have suggested that this may be a live-action adaptation of the immensely popular Japanese series "Akira" with Leonardo DiCaprio, no official word about the project has come about.
Still, a Bond film does not seem to be out of the realm of possibility for Nolan at some point in the future. We'll keep you updated as any and all relevant information comes to light.
