Christopher Nolan gets candid about why he makes movies that trigger mass existential crises

With Oppenheimer nearing its release and keeping millions of fans curious about how one of the most notorious decisions and actions in history will be executed onscreen, people are snatching a moment to revisit Nolan’s complete oeuvre to try and draw similarities to his forthcoming work.

In fact, in an interview with Hugo Décrypte, the filmmaker was specifically asked about the reasons for choosing to create movies with a similar tonality; namely, Nolan’s quintessential dramatic execution of existential crisis. And most significantly, how these films’ raging popularity and worldwide success reflect people’s cinematic tastes.

Nolan emphasized how dramatic stories like “threats to survival” have always been integral to popular tastes and never failed to capture public interest in the past. Giving examples of James Bond movies in the 60s, Nolan implied how nuclear tensions being one of the most talked-about subjects – and a relevant issue even today – is bound to achieve popularity; “Filmmakers are always looking for an ultimate threat to our survival.”.

And nothing other than Oppenheimer – the subject of which created one of the most notorious, mass destructive weapons in history – will stay true to the theme that Nolan spoke about, which bears huge potential to appeal to a vast amount of people’s interests.