Christopher Nolan's Next Project Should Reimagine the Western Genre

Christopher Nolan has the freedom to move into any genre, and it may be time for him to tackle the Western and make it relevant again.

Christopher Nolan's biopic epic, Oppenheimer, has essentially given the director the freedom to do anything he wants with his next project. While Nolan was already a highly sought-after talent with a great range of resources given to him to make his art, the complexity and depth of Oppenheimer demonstrated that the filmmaker could truly make anything cinematic. With the impressive scope of IMAX, spellbinding performances and masterful use of classic industry techniques, Nolan ensured that Oppenheimer was simply unmissable.

Audiences will be eagerly anticipating Nolan's next move, and right now, there's no telling what may inspire him. His career thus far has been full of risky decisions, but the director's love of cinema history could be a major influence on his upcoming production. Western action flicks were once the currency of Hollywood, but that era has long since passed. While icons like Quentin Tarantino have left their own mark on the genre, it may be time for Nolan to turn his hand to the Wild West.

Christopher Nolan Has Always Subverted Genres

Nolan's filmography is perhaps more varied than many might think. Although it seems as if the majority of his movies have a science-fiction flare, the genres he operates in are actually far more nuanced. Indeed, Nolan has never been afraid to subvert genre expectations, taking on surprising projects and combing genres together that many might not have thought fit.

His take on the superhero genre, for example, was groundbreaking, with the Dark Knight Trilogy cementing Nolan as a fantastic action director who was able to pull out emotional complexity from the comic book source material. Oppenheimer is a reinvention of the historical biopic, while Dunkirk acts as a modern interpretation of classic war films. The Prestige combined fantastical magic with science fiction, while the space and time adventure Interstellar was imbued with genuine scientific accuracy. Inception was a psychological thriller with a sci-fi twist, while Tenet was an espionage piece through and through. Regardless of the movie, Nolan takes the tropes of a genre and elevates them further. He has a proven track record of getting the most out of his material, and the Western deserves that same treatment.

All Eyes Are on Christopher Nolan's Next Project

It's fair to say that because of Oppenheimer's success, acting in many ways as Nolan's Magnus Opus, all eyes are currently on the director's next picture. But that's a further benefit to the Western genre. There have been multiple attempts to immerse modern audiences in the Wild West, and some big-screen spectacles have managed to do so. But Nolan brings attention to his projects in a way that other directors cannot. Nolan's style is all about scale and respecting cinema history. Reinterpreting the Western genre for as many eyes as possible, on the biggest screens possible, matches perfectly with his ethos. And interestingly, it's not the first time that a Nolan has revised the Western genre.

Nolan has closely collaborated with his brother, Jonathan Nolan, on a number of projects. Indeed, their shared work includes The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Memento and Interstellar. Nolan takes inspiration from so many things, including those closest to him. And it's no secret that Jonathan has a love for the Western genre. Jonathan and his wife, Lisa Joy, co-created Westworld together. This ambitious TV series combined science fiction with the Wild West to forge a beautifully written exploration of human nature. It's the exact kind of genre-bending that Nolan loves to embark on and could potentially form the basis for his next project. So Nolan's cinematic ideologies match a reimagining of the Wild West, and a feature of this nature provides the opportunity to once again collaborate with his family on an even bigger platform.

The Western's Heyday Could Return Under Christopher Nolan

Although there are multiple paths potentially leading Nolan to take on the Western genre, what he brings to the table is the most important aspect of all. The director's passion for practical filmmaking pays homage to the techniques used throughout the Western cinematic category when those pictures were being shot in Hollywood's golden age. Practical sets and props, stunning location shoots and hard-hitting, realistic stunts all form the backbone of the genre and Nolan's style of filmmaking. Plus, thematically, there are so many tropes that the director can get his teeth stuck into. Nolan has a deep love and respect for the patterns and formulas that the movie industry has created. He isn't afraid to take on any of those structures, recently commenting on a desire to step back into the spy world with a James Bond adaptation. And just like the many stereotypes of Bond's world, there are countless Western beats for Nolan to depict in his own unique way.

The lone gun-slinger, the cultist, the irredeemable bounty hunter and the undervalued farmer are just a few classic character archetypes that Nolan could seamlessly break down and build up once more. And those famous arcs, from the small town fighting back to the outlaw on the run, have cemented themselves in the genre in a way that Nolan can twist how he needs. It's an approach he takes on every film, essentially creating a bit of a bible of the influences he's drawing from and finding the compelling core of each of those narrative elements. And with a love for reading, there's a whole archive of Western texts to further subvert, with the pulpy fictional novels undoubtedly capable of capturing the director's heart. And then, of course, he can play around with the drive of his story. Nolan's not afraid of how confusing his plots may be for audiences, preferring to share his art how he sees fit. He's a lawless force unto himself with a notorious reputation, not unlike the Western heroes themselves.

Ultimately, Nolan's next project should be a Western. His love for the material is easy to imagine, his sources of inspiration are endless, he has personal connections to the genre, his filmmaking techniques are superbly suited, and most of all, his cinematic ideologies would act as a significant driving force. No one else could revive Wild West adventures quite like Nolan. With the industry looking to him to see what's next, a successful outing would move other studios to release their own Western epics, reigniting a much-missed genre for new audiences. It's not just about a single story. It's about industry-wide change that captures what cinema is all about.