Christopher Nolan’s next movie has been shrouded in secrecy to the point that there’s seemingly a rumor every few days about what his next movie is. It’s impossible to keep up, and even worse it’s impossible to know if there’s any shred of truth to these rumors.
After Oppenheimer—his most critically successful film thus far the entire film world is eager to see what Christopher Nolan will do next. Will he go back to sci-fi? Will he venture out into a new genre? Perhaps, horror? Maybe he’ll continue his award success with a film more similar to Oppenheimer. The point being we have no clue what he’s going to do at this point, it feels like it’s all either speculation or a game of chicken where we don’t know who the players are.
Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan’s Next Movie
Here is what we know for certain: The film will be released on July 17, 2026, by Universal Pictures. Christopher Nolan is penning the script. He and his wife Emma Thomas are producing under the Syncope banner. The film will star Matt Damon and Tom Holland.
The rest is up in the air and likely only known by Christopher Nolan, Universal’s upper execs, and some key members who will work on the film. Similarly, Justin Kroll from Deadline shared that you should take all the rumors surrounding Christopher Nolan’s next movie with a grain of salt:
Father-and-Son Film
Matt Damon and Tom Holland could definitely pull off father and son now that I think about it. This rumor came from The Hollywood Reporter’s insider Borys Kit.
Very quickly after this tweet, he took it back and tweeted that he was told that it wasn’t a father-and-son story.
It’s unclear if the father-and-son element does not exist at all or if it simply isn’t the basis of the film. It’s possible that Damon and Holland are playing father and son but the plot isn’t about their relationship even if it is a moving piece.
Verdict: Possible but not likely.
‘The Prisoner’
The Prisoner was a 1960s British TV series about a secret British intelligence agent who is trapped in a mysterious seaside village. Nolan was initially attached to write and direct an adaptation to film for the project in 2009 before he dropped out to do Inception. Rumors started again earlier this year as Variety hinted that there were rumors swirling about that being his next project.
Variety is as reliable as it gets when it comes to film news but this didn’t seem like something that was ever set in stone or even a thing. It was delivered as a rumor of sorts. But as with everything with Nolan, it picked up a lot of steam at the time.
However, The Hollywood Reporter recently said that Christopher Nolan’s next movie is not an adaptation of The Prisoner even if they had no other details about what the project was.
Verdict: Not his next film.
‘Blue Thunder’ Inspired
This one comes from Reddit. A user posted a very descriptive concept of the film on r/ChristopherNolan claiming it was inspired by Blue Thunder, a 1983 action film. According to the user, Christopher Nolan will visit the NYPD aviation unit to prepare for production which involves helicopters and is set in the future.
It’s unclear if there’s any truth to this but it is the most explained rumor thus far. There’s a whole backstory and everything which makes it less believable in a sense. It would be a sight to see if this does end up being true considering how out there it is and the fact it stems from Reddit of all places.
Verdict: Almost certainly baloney.
1920s Vampire Horror Film
If you’re wondering if this is a mix-up for Blade, or Ryan Coogler’s upcoming film Sinners then you are mistaken. According to Gizmodo, their sources tell them that Christopher Nolan will be making a Horror film set in the 1920s featuring vampires. There was no other information in the article but it would be interesting, to say the least.
Christopher Nolan has said he would love to make a Horror film:
I think horror films are very interesting because they depend on very cinematic devices, it really is about a visceral response to things and so, at some point, I’d love to make a horror film. But I think a really good horror film requires a really exceptional idea. And those are few and far between. So I haven’t found a story that lends itself to that.
It’s very possible this would be his chance to do one. It would however be very different from anything else he’s ever done especially if it features vampires. Then again, Oppenheimer was also a different turn for the director at the time. There’s simply not much to go off here. It’s easy to imagine both Damon and Holland as vampires but there’s multiple vampire related films being made set around the same period that throw me off the scent.
This is entirely possible but I wouldn’t bet on it unless there are more distinguishable details about it.
Verdict: Non-zero chance.
Espionage Film
Variety a few days ago claimed that Christopher Nolan’s next movie will not be a sci-fi epic and instead in the espionage genre. Nolan is no stranger to espionage films—Inception and Tenet are both espionage films through and through despite their sci-fi background. It’s unclear if not being a sci-fi epic means absolutely no sci-fi elements.
It would be interesting to see Nolan tackle a straight spy film. He has been rumored to be up for the James Bond director spot too many times to count so it wouldn’t be surprising if his next isn’t Bond but is still within that realm. Casting Matt Damon and Tom Holland for that also does add up.
Damon has played Jason Bourne in four films and would be able to step up for this action-filled role if true. Tom Holland has obviously played Spider-Man, but also Nathan Drake in Uncharted and has the physicality to do action films effortlessly.
Verdict: Entirely possible.
Not Set In The Present
The Hollywood Reporter yesterday claimed that the film was not set in the present day. They are unclear if it’s past or future but it was not present.
This seems a bit obvious if you look at Nolan’s track record in the last 20 years. Other than the Batman films for obvious reasons, Nolan in the last 20 years has set almost all his movies in the past or future—The Prestige was set in the late 19th century, Inception was present day but very different from our world, Interstellar was set in the future, Dunkirk was a historical film, Tenet is set in the near future, and Oppenheimer was obviously also a historical film.
Verdict: Very Likely.
Do keep in mind all of these are just rumors. It’s all smoke and mirrors but speculation is fun. Don’t get too attached to any of these ideas because you never know what Christopher Nolan’s next movie is going to be which is the fun of something like this.
