Is Christopher Nolan Producing DC Films After All??

At first we were told that Chris Nolan would hang on and produce Man of Steel and the new direction of the DC movie franchise. Then we were told his involvement was tertiary and essentially in name only. Then WB exec Charles Roven claimed Nolan was directly involved in the production of Batman v Superman. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that the director was asked to produce the new slate of DC films, but declined.

"Retaining Mr. Nolan for its key franchises has been a top priority at Warner. One of the reasons its slate of DC superhero films have rolled out more slowly than rival Marvel’s comic-book movies was the studio’s lengthy pursuit of him to produce a Justice League film and Batman reboot. He declined, though he did produce last year’s Superman movie Man of Steel."

Chances are, DC is still simply using Nolan and his company’s name to give the Batman and Justice League reboot legitimacy in the perception of the audience. The Dark Knight Trilogy still has a lot of currency with movie goers.

When asked if he was done with the superhero genre completely, he seemed open to the idea, though it ain’t likely.

"I think I had a great experience with the superhero genre and got to explore a lot of things, but it was a good decade of my life and I find it hard to imagine returning to it. But never say never."

It’s a shame, because someone with his chops could push the whole cinematic universe in a good direction. Let’s hope they have a viable alternative.