Christopher Nolan says it would be an “incredible privilege” to direct a James Bond film

Christopher Nolan is one of the few directors in Hollywood capable of making original studio films with virtually unlimited budgets and creative freedom. Since wrapping up his groundbreaking trilogy of Batman films with “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012, Nolan has used that freedom to make original blockbusters like “Interstellar” and “Tenet” and historical epics including “Dunkirk” and this weekend’s “Oppenheimer.” But he’s always been open that a piece of IP could lure him back into the film franchise: James Bond.

Nolan often professed his admiration for the British spy series while promoting his Batman films a decade ago, noting that he met with franchise producer Barbara Broccoli to potentially make his own 007 film. But Daniel Craig was still firmly ensconced in the role of James Bond, and Nolan indicated he was only interested in directing a film if he could choose his own leading man.

Now that Craig has left the role and the search for his replacement is ongoing, could Nolan reconsider joining the franchise? In a new appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the director refused to rule out the possibility.

“I love those movies. The influence of those films on my filmography is embarrassingly evident. You know? So there is no attempt to avoid it. I love movies,” Nolan said. “It would be an incredible privilege to make one.”

Nolan acknowledged that directing a James Bond film would likely mean giving up some of the creative freedom he’s grown accustomed to. He emphasized that he would only undertake a project of that nature if he felt his vision of him aligned with the expectations of the directors of the franchise.

“When you take on a character like that, you’re facing a number of constraints,” he said. “You have to have the right attitude towards this. It must be the right time in your creative life where you can express what you want to express and dig into something within the appropriate limits. You never want to go through something like this and do it wrong.