Christopher Nolan worships James Bond, but his favorite 007 film? It’s one of the worst ever made. Not Skyfall, not Casino Royale, we’re talking full-blown guilty pleasure territory. And probably a good thing Bond producers turned him down.
If this mess inspired him, who knows what kind of cinematic chaos he had in mind for 007?
Christopher Nolan’s favorite Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is one of the franchise’s biggest misfires
Christopher Nolan loves On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The rest of the world, not so much. The 1969 Bond flick, starring one-and-done 007 George Lazenby, sits at a mediocre 17th place on IMDb’s Bond rankings — hardly the elite status you’d expect from the favorite film of Hollywood’s biggest Bond fanboy.
Still, Nolan isn’t shy about his love for the movie. In a 2010 Empire interview, he praised its emotional depth and revealed that parts of Inception were inspired by it. He alluded,
I think ‘Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ would be my favorite Bond. It’s a hell of a movie, it holds up very well.
What I liked about it that we’ve tried to emulate in this film is there’s a tremendous balance of action, scale, and romanticism and tragedy and emotion. Of all the Bond films, it’s by far the most emotional. There’s a love story and ‘Inception’ is kind of a love story as well as anything else.
Fans might not agree, but there’s no denying Diana Rigg’s performance as Tracy — a rare Bond girl with a tragic arc.
Ironically, despite his Bond obsession, Nolan was this close to directing a 007 film himself. After Tenet, he reportedly expressed interest, but Barbara Broccoli refused to give him “final cut” control. That was a dealbreaker. Nolan moved on, made Oppenheimer, won an Oscar, and left Bond behind.
Now, the franchise is in a weird limbo. Amazon has taken full creative control, pushing Broccoli and longtime producer Michael G. Wilson aside. A new Bond film is supposedly still the “top priority,” but first, Amazon needs to find a producer. Harry Potter mastermind David Heyman is the kind of name being floated.
And what about the next Bond? The usual suspects — Henry Cavill, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Idris Elba — are still in the mix, but no casting decisions can happen until Amazon finalizes its deal with Broccoli. Until then, Bond remains shaken, if not quite stirred.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is already being called a masterpiece, while Spielberg preps a sci-fi epic
Christopher Nolan is taking on The Odyssey, and Universal’s Jim Orr is already calling it a visionary, once-in-a-generation cinematic masterpiece (via Variety). He even joked (or maybe not) that Homer himself “would quite likely be proud of.” The room chuckled, but nobody questioned Nolan’s ability to deliver.
Fresh off Oppenheimer’s Oscar sweep, Nolan is assembling a staggering cast. Matt Damon leads as Odysseus, joined by Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron. Character details? Still a mystery. Footage? Nowhere to be found.
Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg is diving back into blockbuster sci-fi. Expect it on June 12, 2026. Nolan’s The Odyssey? Set sail for July 17, 2026.
Watch On Her Majesty’s Secret Service on Apple TV & Amazon Video.
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