Warner Bros. Is Thirsty To Get Christopher Nolan Back, But Will New BFF Universal Let It Happen?
It's a tale as old as time. Two parties come together, discover that they share a remarkable amount of chemistry, and strike up a rich and mutually rewarding relationship that carries them through all sorts of highs and lows. Sometimes, however, those lows can be too difficult to weather and that ol' fashioned excuse of irreconcilable differences rears its terrible head. But maybe the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Like all the best love stories, this wouldn't feel complete without at least the possibility of a second chance.
Okay, so maybe the saga of director Christopher Nolan and his incredibly public parting of ways with Warner Bros. for the more filmmaker-friendly shores of Universal Pictures isn't quite as romantic as all that. But you have to admit — it made for a great piece of drama at the time, when one-time parent company AT&T chose to completely shake up the theatrical marketplace with its day-and-date streaming plan with HBO Max (now known as Max, of course) back in 2020. The consequence of that scheme meant completely alienating all the biggest champions of the big screen experience, with Nolan notoriously firing back at the studio like a scorned lover and going so far as to say that WB transformed itself from "the greatest movie studio" to "the worst streaming service." Wild.
The ongoing soap opera isn't over just yet, though. In a new profile over at Variety about WB co-CEOs and co-chairpeople Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, it was revealed that the pair are currently making overtures to woo their golden goose back to the studio he once called home. Never let love die, folks!
Second chances?
You don't know how good you've got it until it's gone, as they say!
For those of us at home trying to find parallels with the classic rom-com structure, this is the part two-thirds of the way through the movie when the co-leads go through their biggest fight and are just on the verge of reconciling again ... or walking out of each other's lives forever. If this real-life drama follows the script, then maybe there's a chance that Christopher Nolan's next film after "Oppenheimer" could actually start with that familiar Warner Bros. logo again. Will that actually happen? Well, it won't be for a lack of trying by Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, at least.
In the Variety profile, De Luca makes his grand appeal to Nolan with flowers in hand:
"We're hoping to get Nolan back. I think there's a world [where that happens]."
Okay, those aren't the most romantic words ever spoken, but the report does indicate a much more tangible attempt to get back in Nolan's good graces. According to unnamed sources, the studio apparently cut a pretty hefty royalty check to Nolan after the "Tenet" theatrical release debacle as a gesture of good faith within the last year. In a sign that the ice may be thawing, Variety states that Nolan moved back to the Warner Bros. lot in order to complete post-production on "Oppenheimer." Is anyone else feeling the will-they/won't-they tension in the air?
It remains to be seen how this ultimately unfolds, especially since — lest we forget — Universal head Donna Langley will have plenty to say about this, too. Whatever the case, let's just hope all parties involved follow their heart. In reality, it'll probably be money that talks the loudest. A tale as old as time, indeed!