Amazon Wants Christopher Nolan for Bond, But Is He Still Interested?

I recently finished the second season of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It was fine! I don’t hate it, like many others understandably do. But it is far from perfect and often more gratuitously violent than I would expect a Tolkien adaptation to be. Regardless, I stuck with it because it has wonderful actors and brings to life a world I love, thanks to an insane budget. Amazon is well aware of how popular the Lord of the Rings properties are and has put all their money behind their take, but does that guarantee quality?

The budget is used in all the right ways. There are lavish sets that feel real and lived-in. Plenty of scenes feature hordes of extras and are staged like they were made for the big screen. Yes, there is plenty of CG, but it looks damn good. Still, something just feels off about the show. Some of the story beats are jumbled, and while they mostly avoid nostalgia, whenever they call upon it the show is dragged to a screeching halt. The show was renewed for a third season despite a growing lack of enthusiasm by fans, and on the heels of Amazon gearing up for another huge adaptation.

The mega-corporation was at a standstill with Barbara Broccoli, the shepherd of the James Bond franchise on screen. So, they bought her out. Now Jeff Bezos’ plaything finds itself fully in charge of the legendary spy franchise, something people have rightfully lamented. While I agree that few Bond films are actually “good,” a franchise controlled by a stubbornly creative family is more exciting than if it were under the watchful eye of a man going through a never-ending mid-life crisis and his team of sycophants.

Like with Lord of the Rings, Amazon seems aware that they have to put their best foot forward with their new toy, and they apparently want to bring in Christopher Nolan, who has wanted to make a Bond film for some time. The Oppenheimer director was close to helming his own 007 movie recently, but Barbara Broccoli wouldn’t give him the final cut. While the change in leadership could be enticing to the director, it doesn’t mean he would get everything he wants, and he’s no stranger to battling with corporate interests.

Nolan’s falling out with Warner Brothers was severe. He had worked with the company for decades and may never do so again. That was due to a battle over theatrical release, which Amazon has been open to, but Nolan not trusting the big company would make sense. There’s also the fact that Nolan has seemingly been granted a blank check from Universal, making big-budget movies about the man who built the atom bomb and the tale of Odysseus. He could jump over to Amazon to tell a story he’s long wanted to tell, but would he still be interested?