While Christopher and Jonathan Nolan spent years improving the stock of DC Comics characters up on the silver screen, it appears that their time making superhero-related movies has come to an end. The latter, who scripted both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, has revealed in an interview that he and his brother are no longer affiliated with the growing DC Cinematic Universe.
Speaking with Coming Soon at the press junket for the upcoming Interstellar, Jonathan Nolan was asked if he and his brother would have any further involvement with the development of DC Comics-based films, and while the screenwriter's answer was brief, it was also pretty definitive. That being said, he also played a bit of politics and kept the door open for a possible return to the growing franchise somewhere down the line. Said Nolan,
"I love those guys and my brother was involved in Man of Steel with Zack [Snyder] and David [Goyer]. I kind of feel like that chapter for us is closed. To be continued somewhere farther down the line? Maybe."
As we learned at San Diego Comic-Con last year, Christopher Nolan is currently attached as an Executive Producer on Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but these new comments basically tell us that he and his brother won't be involved in any of the DC Comics movies that will be coming out between now and 2020. Fans will certainly be disappointed by this news, as it was the vision of the Nolans' that helped resurrect Batman's big screen presence after the disastrous Schumacher years, but at the same time they did complete a full trilogy of films and it's hard to blame them for wanting to move on to other creative endeavors.
Of course, Jonathan Nolan's comments also force us to wonder what it would actually take to bring him and Christopher Nolan back into the DC Comics filmmaking world. For example, it looks like the Ben Affleck version of the Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a completely different take than the one featured in the Nolan trilogy, but what if the DC Cinematic Universe were to open up the multiverse at some point in the future and there was some kind of continuation of Nolan's movies through crossover? Christopher and Jonathan could not only be brought in for creative consultation, but maybe even to direct/write as well. Anything like this will only happen way, way down the line, but it's just proof that there are interesting options available!
Are you upset that the DC Cinematic Universe and the Nolans are planning on going separate ways, or do you think it's the right call for both parties? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
