Director Christopher Nolan indulged in a fascinating thought experiment to imagine what it would be like if he was Marvel’s darling instead of the legendary helmer of DC’s Dark Knight trilogy.
Nolan was asked by Oppenheimer star Robert Downey Jr., as part of Wired’s Autocomplete Interview, “What if Christopher Nolan directed The Avengers?”
The director joked that the question represented “a multiverse conundrum” but revealed in his answer that he’s apparently taken a strong liking to Downey Jr., who was seated next to him in the interview.
“Having worked with you on Oppenheimer, there’d probably be a lot too much of Tony Stark. You’d be running all over the movie a little bit,” Noland said.
What would a Marvel movie made without CGI look like?
Downey Jr. correctly asserted he’d practically already dominated The Avengers, to begin with. However, Nolan said it would be “a little more” in his version of the film. What’s more, Nolan asked Downey Jr. whether he would be willing to go the extra mile in order to bring scenes to life without relying on CGI: “Would you be prepared to use one of those jetpacks, the one they make for real?”
At the very notion of a director doing in-camera practical effects for the entirety of a film with a plot involving superheroes battling alien invaders, Downey Jr. couldn’t help but make fun of the absurdity of it all. “Yeah, if Christopher Nolan had directed The Avengers, we would still be shooting it,” he said.
We can’t imagine in any serious capacity that Nolan would ever direct a Marvel movie at this point. However, the director did express the desire to tackle a James Bond movie at one point, which seems like a match made in cinematic heaven.
You can check out Nolan’s latest film, the biographical thriller Oppenheimer, at a theater near you Friday.
