Christopher Nolan has taken audiences to the furthest reaches of outer space, sent them cascading through dreams upon dreams, and drafted them to the front lines of WWII, but his newest movie could travel to somewhere the director has never gone before… the horror genre! Almost a nanosecond after Nolan’s newest movie was announced, the internet was filled with rumors about what the mysterious project could be. It has now been confirmed that Matt Damon, who worked with Nolan on Oppenheimer and Interstellar, will star in the movie. Most recently, it was also reported that the MCU’s Spider-Man, Tom Holland, will lead the film. But the rumor mill churns on, with some claiming that Nolan’s next project will be anything from The Dark Knight 4 (it will not), Nolan’s Bond movie (possibly), Memento 2 (which should be titled Mementos), and everything else in-between.
Now, according to a “reliable source” via Gizmodo, Nolan’s new mystery project could see the director venture into the horror genre for the very first time. The rumor suggests that Nolan’s next movie will be a vampire movie set during the 1920s. If (by some miracle), the rumor is true, it would be the first time Nolan has dived into the realm of spooky moviemaking.
The rumor lines up with the prevailing theory about the new movie. Nothing about the film’s genre or story has been confirmed. However, when the project was first announced, it was reported that Nolan’s film would be another period piece. Although, few were expecting the acclaimed sci-fi and drama director to throw blood-sucking vampires in the mix.
Why Christopher Nolan Should Make a Horror Movie
Not to sit here and tell Christopher Nolan how to do his job, but the director’s interpretation of a horror film would be a spectacle to behold on-screen. Even the most avid of horror haters would flock to theaters in droves to see Nolan give Tom Holland and Matt Damon pointy teeth, and shoot extreme close-ups of them with an IMAX camera, rolling on 65mm film – we’re holding out hope for Nolan’s Twilight remake.
What also makes the concept interesting is that audiences have absolutely no clue what a Christopher Nolan horror movie would look like. The director’s movies have been called many things over the decades; ambitious, jaw-dropping, moving, and complicated, have all been used to describe his films. But, the word “scary” has rarely been used. Nolan’s movies have depicted frightening figures, such as the Joker, Scarecrow, and President Harry S. Truman, but the closest Nolan has come to directing a jump scare on the big screen was when Mal (Marion Cotillard) came running at the camera with a knife during one of Inception‘s dream sequences. Surprisingly, Nolan’s first credited short film is a low-budget horror titled Tarantella, but it’s hard to use as a benchmark for the director’s understanding of horror, as he has come a long, long way since then.
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Nolan’s next film is plagued by ifs, buts, and maybes. Will Tom Holland play the vampire? Will Matt Damon be hunting him down? Would a Christopher Nolan horror feature any jump scares? Or would it be terrifying just by making us face our own mortality (like Oppenheimer)? Will it even be a straight-up horror? And is it too similar to Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s period-set vampire flick Sinners? Looking at his past works, it is more likely that the “period setting” portion of the rumor is true, while the “vampire horror” part could well be nothing more than overly-excited fans who long to see the Oscar-winning filmmaker finally dabble in the genre.
Christopher Nolan’s untitled new movie is scheduled for release in 2026.