To put it lightly, Oppenheimer became a smash hit upon its 2023 debut. It dominated the box office and earned 13 Oscar nominations, winning seven, including Best Actor for Robert Downey Jr. and Best Director for Christopher Nolan.
The epic biopic finally started its streaming run on Peacock in February, giving fans worldwide a chance to dive into the three-hour saga.
Now, with a film that successful, the natural inquiries that come up center on whether that story will continue.
Universal Boss Addresses Oppenheimer 2
NBCUniversal Studio group chairman and chief content officer Donna Langley offered only a short response to Variety when asked about the chances of Oppenheimer 2 being made.
Even after Nolan’s magnum opus became Universal’s top movie of 2023 financially and critically, all Langley said was, “Let’s hope not” in terms of a sequel being made.
This is seemingly a relief for many fans, even after Oppenheimer broke box office records weekly after hitting theaters on July 21.
On top of its Oscar wins, it grossed over $950 million at the global box office (per Box Office Mojo) and still has Tomatometer and Audience Meter scores of over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
What’s Next for Christopher Nolan After Oppenheimer?
Considering Oppenheimer is a biopic based on the true story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, there is next to no chance a sequel will be made since the original film covered the theoretical physicist’s entire life.
However, after winning the Academy Award that had previously eluded him, Christopher Nolan has shown no signs of slowing down with other projects.
In March, Variety reported a rumor that Nolan’s next endeavor would be a remake of The Prisoner, based on the 1960s TV series created by and starring Patrick McGoohan. Nolan was attached to this movie in 2009, but it came off his schedule when AMC released a six-part miniseries based on the same story.
Speaking with Empire Magazine, Nolan’s wife and co-producer, Emma Thomas, teased a “very exciting” time ahead for the two industry giants. They see a “limitless” number of possibilities for what they could work on after Oppenheimer, even though nothing is nailed down yet:
“I would say it’s very exciting. This is the moment where the possibilities are sort of limitless, we haven’t started thinking practicalities, or anything. ‘Oppenheimer’ was so absurdly successful and we feel like we have an opportunity.”
Nolan also addressed his immediate future with Variety, indicating he was “open to anything” that may come to him. However, he wants to ensure that he “[owns] it completely” and makes it “original,” making it clear that he has to have the passion and vision for the story no matter what story it is:
show less“Ideas come from everywhere. I’ve done a remake, I’ve made adaptations from comic books and novels, and I’ve written original screenplays. I’m open to anything. But as a writer and director, whatever I do, I have to feel like I own it completely. I have to make it original to me: The initial seed of an idea may come from elsewhere, but it has to go through my fingers on a keyboard and come out through my eyes alone.”
