Some are calling Interstellar the best Christopher Nolan movie to date. That's quite the compliment considering the collection of stellar cinema on Nolan's resume. The Daily Beast recently sat down with Nolan to primarily discuss Interstellar but a number of other topics also arose. One of the first, was whether Nolan might be interested in helming a Star Wars movie after tackling sci-fi, space travel in Interstellar?
"I’m pretty excited to see what J.J. [Abrams] is going to do with [Star Wars: Episode VII]. I’m excited to see that he’s shooting on film and actually built the Millennium Falcon. As far as whether or not I would have ever done it, the truth is I think I’d be afraid to touch it! He’s boldly going where he went before in Star Trek, and it takes colossal balls. I’m a lot more comfortable trying to do my own thing than carrying the weight and expectation of the entire world—particularly 40-somethings like me who live and die with each new bit of information about Star Wars. But I’m very excited to see what he does."
Another interesting topic that arose, was whether Nolan would be interested in tackling James Bond. Agent 007 is something that Nolan has previously expressed interest in directing but more recently, The Dark Knight director has shied away from vocalizing enthusiasm.
"I love James Bond and I’ve talked with the producers over the years, but nothing’s ever worked out. They do a great job—they don’t need me right now, and Sam [Mendes] is an extraordinary talent. I will absolutely be first in line to see the next Bond film as I have been for all of them."
Of course, the subject of Ben Affleck's Batman and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was also broached.
"I’m only involved in [Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice] in an advisory capacity as an executive producer, so I’m not involved in the day-to-day. When they told me that Ben was interested in doing it, I thought, “How thrilling!” This is the guy who just won Best Picture as a director and as an actor, and I thought it would be a great thing that he’d be willing to do this. I think the guy is incredibly talented and I’m very excited to see what Zack and Ben do together."
Does advising on Batman v Superman create an itch within Nolan to tackle the superhero genre again?
"I worked on [The Dark Knight trilogy] for a long time—almost 10 years—and had an incredible experience. It was totally fulfilling, so I’m done with that part of my life. But it was really thrilling."