Christopher Nolan’s Next Movie Update Makes Two Of His Past Films Even More Special

Christopher Nolan‘s comments about his next movies mean his older classics like Memento and The Prestige will become even more iconic. After the success of Oppenheimer, Nolan has continued to cement his legacy as one of the all-time great directors. His body of work speaks for itself and while Christopher Nolan has not won an Oscar so far in his career, 2024 could change that. His films have won Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and even Best Supporting Actor, but Oppenheimer looks like Nolan’s best chance yet at winning an individual award.

With Oppenheimer becoming one of the biggest movies of 2023, Nolan seems to be continuing a career trajectory that he has followed for close to two decades. His later movies have only continued to increase the director’s popularity and given him more recognition. Although his recent work is getting the attention it deserves, Nolan’s earlier films share a common trait that makes them special. His later work has proved how skillful of a filmmaker he is with the right tools, but his earlier movies showcased how creative he could be with a small budget, and they still hold up today.

Christopher Nolan Will Continue To Make Large-Scale Movies

Nolan’s Future Movies Will Continue To Have Big Budgets

After grossing close to $1 billion with Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan will continue to make large-scale movies. While Nolan has proven his ability to work with smaller budgets in the past, he has become synonymous with his unique filming style, often using IMAX cameras to help create iconic shots. Not all his large-scale films are blockbusters as Oppenheimer evidenced, meaning Nolan can use these budgets to make memorable movies in multiple genres. In a recent interview, Christopher Nolan revealed he will continue making big-scale movies, showing these large budgets will be part of the director’s future. Nolan said:

I’m drawn to working at a large scale because I know how fragile the opportunity to marshal those resources is. I know that there are so many filmmakers out there in the world who would give their eye teeth to have the resources I put together, and I feel I have the responsibility to use them in the most productive and interesting way.

His feeling of responsibility makes sense considering the current trend of movies dominating Hollywood. While 2023 was more of an exception, big franchises tend to dominate the box office, with superhero films and sequels usually becoming the most profitable projects. The director has created some superhero blockbusters of his own, with The Dark Knight trilogy among Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing box office movies. Despite this, Nolan didn’t drag the series on, ending it after three movies before focusing on a new project. Rather than creating spinoffs, Nolan went on to make Interstellar, showing his large-scale films have variety and heart.

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Only 4 Christopher Nolan Movies Cost Less Than $100 Million

Nolan Has Just A Handful Of Small Budget Movies

Christopher Nolan only has four films that cost less than $100 million to make. Four out of five of Christopher Nolan’s first movies had a budget of under $100 million, showing how his earlier films were much lower-scale than his later work. Naturally, a new director is unlikely to be trusted with such a big budget, but his fourth film, Batman Begins, cost $150 million to make, showing how quickly Nolan’s reputation started to rise. While his Batman trilogy and the movies beyond it are all high-quality, his earlier projects have become even more special.

Following, Memento, Insomnia, and The Prestige are Nolan’s only films that had budgets of under $100 million, yet they have aged well and are still fantastic movies. It is proof that Nolan can create memorable stories regardless of his resources, and even in his earlier days he still produced great projects. They may not have the same great visual effects or iconic scores that Nolan’s films have become famous for, but these low-budget movies highlight the quality of the director’s writing. Nolan’s comments suggest he may not be returning to low budgets anytime soon, making these films even more unique.

Nolan’s Career Approach Makes His First Couple Of Movies More Special

It Is Unlikely Nolan Will Be Going Back To Smaller Budgets In The Near Future

The comments regarding Nolan’s future movies indicate it could be a while before he works with a low budget again, which only adds to his first few films’ legacy. Considering most of Nolan’s movies have performed well critically and with audiences, picking his best films is difficult, but his older movies certainly compete with his latest projects. While Following may be less known than the others, Insomnia, Memento, and The Prestige are all huge movies despite their small budgets. All four of Nolan’s low-cost films netted box office gains, proving that they were all-round successes.

Knowing they may be a rarity in Nolan’s film catalog makes them stand out among the rest, considering the director’s future plans. All his movies warrant their own praise, but the fact these projects were done earlier and with more restrictions helps add to how special they are. While it is unclear what movie Christopher Nolan will make next, it will surely have a huge budget and use many of the director’s signature shots and effects. However, none of that would have been possible had it not been for these special, lower-scale films that have become even more iconic.