Will Christopher Nolan Take Over The James Bond Franchise If It Heads To Warner Bros?
Sony could lose James Bond as well as Spider-Man.
Looks like Sony's going to lose control of its other big franchise later this year - Spectre is the final James Bond film in the studio's deal with MGM. That pretty much nips those rumours of a two-parter in the bud. The expected outcome, propagated by news breaker Variety, is that the rights will jump over to Warner Bros. - MGM and Warner's CEOs reportedly have a close relationship. Given that Warner's already got the DC Cinematic Universe and Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them in the works, this could see the studio try and take on the multiplex dominance of Disney. Assumedly Sam Mendes wouldn't follow the franchise across (he's not currently linked to Bond 25), meaning the director's chair would be open. And here's where it gets interesting; one of Warner's most prolific, bankable directors also happens to be a major Bond fan who's seeded the franchise throughout his recent work. That's right - if the rights go to Warner, it's likely they'll offer it to golden child Christopher Nolan. The Interstellar director has been perpetually linked to Bond whenever a new movie rolls around, but this time it looks like it could be put right at his feet. With Nolan comes hope for another shift in the status quo - a new Bond. Daniel Craig is contracted for Spectre and its sequel, but a studio shift could send that into legalese. And that could leave the door open for Tom Hardy. Warner Bros. is the common pick for Bond #7's "home" studio (to the point where he refused to say a single bad work about the "alley" Suicide Squad a couple of weeks back). He's riding high after the mega success of Mad Max: Fury Road, so would be a solid pick. Whether production timelines would match up for director and/or star is unclear, but for now it's fun to speculate. Of course, if you're a budding producer/director wanting to leave their mark on 007 and have a spare few mil lying around, you could always bid. Spectre is out on November 6th, 2015. Will Nolan end up taking on Bond? Share your thoughts down in the comments?