Christopher Nolan has chosen Universal to help him make his next film which will be about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb.” But Nolan actually met with several studios to potentially fund the project. But only Universal was able to meet Nolan’s steep demands.
For the past two decades, Nolan almost exclusively worked with Warner Bros. on his movies. But following WB’s decision to release movies day-and-date in theaters and HBO Max, Nolan was publicly critical of the move and it seems Nolan was looking to work with someone else for his next movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, potential suitors would need to meet some requirements though. The report says Nolan is targeting a $100 million budget for the film, something he apparently considers “smaller-scale” compared to his other projects.
Nolan requested an equal marketing budget, as well as “total creative control, 20 percent of first-dollar gross, and a blackout period from which the studio wherein the company would not release another movie three weeks before or three weeks after his release.”
To ensure his movie wouldn’t land on a streaming service immediately, Nolan also requested at least a 100-day theatrical window. For comparison, Marvel’s Shang-Chi has a 45-day theatrical window.
The Hollywood Reporter says the three main competitors for Nolan’s movie were Apple, Sony, and Universal. Apple reportedly could not meet Nolan’s theatrical window request and while Sony was considered up until the very end, Nolan sided with Universal after the company plainly said yes to all of Nolan’s demands.
Nolan’s next film is another historical picture set around World War 2. Specific plot details are under wraps, but it will be about Oppenheimer, who was a key figure in the Manhattan Project tasked with developing the first nuclear weapons. Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy is rumored to be in a major role for the movie.
You can read IGN’s review of Dunkirk for our take on Nolan’s last WW2 epic, or the more high-concept Tenet which Nolan made with WB.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.