Christopher Nolan is parting ways with Warner Bros., as his new World War II movie is picked up by Universal. For years, Nolan and the studio enjoyed a fruitful partnership, collaborating on highly-successful and industry-defining films such as the Dark Knight trilogyInception, and Dunkirk (among others). Their relationship continued as recently as last year, when WB released Nolan's Tenet, which was one of the rare tentpoles to release in 2020 as theaters were starting to reopen amidst the pandemic.

However, Nolan's relationship with WB became strained in late 2020, after the studio announced all of their 2021 titles would release on HBO Max the same day as theaters. Nolan, a proponent of the big screen experience, was highly critical of the decision, going so far as to call HBO Max "the worst streaming service." This led many to believe Nolan would no longer do business with WB as he develops his next project. Recently, it was revealed Nolan is working on a film about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb, which he was shopping to multiple studios. Now, the untitled movie has found a home.

Related: Why It's Good Christopher Nolan's Next Movie Won't Be A Sci-Fi

Per Deadline, Universal has picked up Nolan's new WWII movie. Universal beat out MGM and Sony for the rights, and WB was apparently not considered. The plan is for production to begin early next year.

Christopher Nolan Warner Bros

Theatrical exclusivity was most likely a top priority for Nolan as he sought out a deal. It isn't a coincidence the three studios that were considered also happen to be three that do not have their own in-house streaming service, a la Disney+ or HBO Max. While Universal has struck agreements with theater chains for shortened windows, throughout the pandemic they've released their big titles only in theaters first. Barring any unforeseen developments, that will almost definitely be the plan for Nolan's new WWII movie. Now that the project has a home and is eyeing a start date in the near future, more details and information will probably be revealed soon.

Nolan is one of the few directors working today whose name is enough to bring in audiences. Original sci-fi blockbusters Inception and Interstellar grossed $836.8 million and $701.1 million at the worldwide box office, respectively. Dunkirk made $527 million globally. It's understandable why Universal would be so interested in doing business with Nolan, and they'll have high hopes for the Oppenheimer film. Ideally, it will be a critical and commercial hit akin to Nolan's previous works (and perhaps net the director his first Oscar win). It'll be interesting to see if this is the start of a new longterm relationship between filmmaker and studio. As for WB, they've lost one of their most reliable collaborators and will have to come up with something in an attempt to fill the void.

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Source: Deadline