When Warner Bros. announced that they would be releasing their entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, the move angered several directors, including Christopher Nolan, who had called Warner Bros. home for twenty years. The fallout led to Nolan taking Oppenheimer to Universal Pictures, with reports saying it was “unlikely” that the director would ever work with Warner Bros. again.
However, tensions between Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. have settled, with the director telling Variety that he has put the feud behind him. “It’s water under the bridge,” he said. The last two years have seen plenty of changes at Warner Bros., with new CEO David Zaslav bringing in Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy to serve as co-chairpersons and CEOs of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. Given the regime changes, would Nolan be open to working with Warner Bros. again? “Oh yeah, absolutely,” Nolan said. “Pam and Mike and Zaslav, they’re trying to do some great things with that studio, which is encouraging to see.“
Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy confirmed earlier this year that they were hoping to get Nolan back. Will it happen? I certainly wouldn’t bet against it. The massive success of Oppenheimer, which has grossed $948 million worldwide, has made Nolan more in-demand than ever, and I’m sure other studios will be courting him for his next project.
After Warner Bros. announced their day-and-date release plan, Nolan quickly released a statement slamming it. “Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service,” Nolan said. “Warner Bros. had an incredible machine for getting a filmmaker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak. They don’t even understand what they’re losing. Their decision makes no economic sense and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction.“
Oppenheimer will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital on November 21st.