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Steam is gathering behindChristopher Nolan’s next movieas the director moves on from his Oscar-winningOppenheimer. Some rumors seem to suggest the director’s next project will be in a surprising genre.
Christopher Nolanhas had a long career of genre-defining hits. The director began directing grittycrime thrillers with a twist inMementoandFollowing. He then moved on to the movie franchise that many know him for, withBatman Beginsin 2005, followed byThe Dark Knightin 2008, andThe Dark Knight Risesin 2012. In between those, Nolan tried his hand at psychological thrillersThe PrestigeandInceptionand continued pushing the boundaries of high-concept sci-fi withInterstellarin 2014. Of late, the director has turned his attention more toward historical pieces, releasing the war dramaDunkirkin 2017, and the award-winning J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic in 2023.Oppenheimerwas a milestone for Nolan, and now all eyes are on the filmmaker to see what he does next.
What is Christopher Nolan’s Next Movie?
Talk of Nolan’s next movie has ramped up since a new project from the director claimed a spot in Universal’s release calendar.Varietyreported the film will be released in IMAX on Jul 17, 2025, giving Nolan a couple of years to work on it. Nolan is set to return as a writer and director, with his wife, Emma Thomas, joining as a producer under their production company Syncopy.Oppenheimercast member Matt Damon is also reportedly set to appear in the new movie. However, interest was set alight whenThe Hollywood Reporterannounced that Tom Holland had joined the film, making time to work with Nolan inhis packed schedule that already includesSpider-Man 4.
Plot details for Nolan’s next film are shrouded in mystery right now, but a couple of rumors have come to the forefront. The Hollywood Reporter reported the film would not be set in the present day, but could not confirm whether it would take place in the past or future. However,Gizmododug up a more interesting rumor which claims that Nolan’s next film “is a vampire movie set in the 1920s,” and may lean into the horror genre. While these rumors should be taken with a grain of salt until announced officially, there are a few reasons Nolan directing a vampire film would make sense.
Christopher Nolan Should Tackle the Supernatural Genre
Throughout his career, Nolan has tackled sci-fi, superhero, thriller, crime, and historical pieces, but he’s yet to touch horror or the supernatural. Nolan did directThe Prestige, a film about feuding magicians in London in the 1890s, which could arguably considered a fantasy thanks to its use of magic, but the film leaned too far into the psychological thriller side of things to be considered a true fantasy.
The director certainly hit his stride last year, finally winning an Academy Award for directingOppenheimerafter years of being a nominee. But Nolan has never been one to play it safe, so it makes sense the director would move away from historical biopics and into something different. A supernatural horror film would be new territory for the director, and it’s undeniably exciting to see what his take would be on it.
What Would A Nolan Vampire Movie Look Like?
The reason a Nolan take on the supernatural or horror genres would be so interesting is because the director usually subverts each of the genres he tackles.The Dark Knight trilogy was a gritty and grounded version of the comic book movie and rarely employed any of the over-the-top nature that comic book stories often entail.Inceptionwas a heist film with a sci-fi genre twist that kept audiences thinking and guessing until the end. Nolan can also bring something unexpected to more realistic genres.Dunkirkcould have been a straightforward historical epic, but in Nolan’s hands, it played with the convention of time, telling the story of three characters caught up in the same war, over three different lengths of time.
A Christopher Nolan take on the supernatural horror genre would be so interesting because the director usually subverts each of the genres he tackles.
Given Nolan’s track record, it’s expected that his period vampire film will be two things: grounded and cinematic. Any time Nolan has taken on a genre, he manages to infuse it with a sense of reality. If this movie does end up being a period piece, it will likely be historically accurate, similar toThe Prestige. It may have supernatural elements, but they will likely be tied to realistic rules. For example,inInception, extractors can be wokenfrom a dream by falling, something that often wakes people in reality.
Another of Nolan’s strengths is worldbuilding. The director is adept at taking a genre and making it his own, constructing a world that feels authentic to his style and fleshing it out with concepts and rules that are logical, original and thought-provoking. This is often paired with the director’s other hallmark: his movies are blockbusters. Nolan will often opt to do stunts and action scenes practically, and make them big and cinematic, something worthy of an IMAX camera.Tenet’splane crashis perhaps the best example of that and one that cost a real Boeing 747. The budget and scale of Nolan’s films is in a league that not many directors operate in, so it would be fascinating to see what a vampire film at his level would look like.
Nolan’s career has spanned a variety of genres, but supernatural horror is one the world has yet to see from the director. Hopefully, this rumor ends up bearing fruit (or fangs) as it will be an intriguing new direction for one of Hollywood’s top directors.
