What an outrageous headline! Has anyone ever truly asked: Is Jonathan Nolan more talented than Christopher Nolan? Well, it might be a topic worthy of debate because even though the elder Nolan brother cleaned up at the Oscars for Oppenheimer, the younger sibling is establishing himself as a force of reckoning in Hollywood.
The Collaborations Between Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
It was 2000’s Memento that put Christopher Nolan on the map as a filmmaker. While he wrote and directed the twisty neo-noir thriller, the film would have failed to exist if not for Jonathan Nolan. While at university, Jonathan conceptualized an idea for a story. He told his brother about it, and Christopher encouraged him to write it. After Jonathan sent Christopher a draft of a short story titled Memento Mori a few months later, the elder Nolan decided to adapt it into a screenplay for a movie, and the rest is history.
This would kick off a number of award-winning collaborations between the brothers, which saw Jonathan contribute to the screenplays for The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige, and Interstellar. In addition, Jonathan played a part in the screenplay for Batman Begins, even though his efforts went uncredited because of Hollywood’s weird rules for screenplay credits.
Christopher has never been shy of praising his brother for his input, either. In fact, he joked with Deadline how the most iconic line in The Dark Knight came from Jonathan’s mind. “It kills me because it’s the line that most resonates,” Christopher said. “And at the time, I didn’t even understand it. He says, ‘You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.’ I read it in his draft, and I was like, ‘All right, I’ll keep it in there, but I don’t really know what it means. Is that really a thing?’”
Jonathan Nolan Took On The TV World And Won Every Time
Creating a successful television show isn’t easy. Yet, Jonathan Nolan knocked it out of the park every time he attempted it. He created Person of Interest and co-created Westworld with his wife, Lisa Joy. Both shows received several seasons and acclaim from far and wide. In the case of Westworld, the sci-fi show cleaned up at the awards ceremonies, winning nine Primetime Emmy Awards for its four seasons.
Nolan has also demonstrated a keen eye for spotting the right projects to produce. He served as an executive producer on Prime Video’s The Peripheral and Fallout. While the former received a raw deal and was cancelled in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, the latter is being widely praised as one of the best video game adaptations of all time.
Fallout also allowed Nolan to flex more of his directing muscles as he helmed the first three episodes of the series. As it turns out, he reached out to his brother for advice too. “There never has been anything that either of us have worked on that we haven’t shown each other and talked about,” Jonathan told Forbes. “I think getting a gut check from him is an essential part of any project that I’m working on.”
The Next Big Director In Science Fiction?
Taking a quick look at the shows and projects in which Jonathan Nolan involves himself, it’s clear that he has a soft spot for the sci-fi genre. After the successes of Westworld and Fallout, it’s more than likely he will receive more offers for shows and films in the future. But what about him directing his own big blockbuster feature? At some point, it’s bound to happen. In fact, it would be interesting to see how Nolan would approach established lore like The Matrix or to see which other William Gibson stories he could bring to life. Whichever way, watch this space because Nolan won’t be stuck doing television forever.
As it stands, Christopher Nolan might be the better-known and more revered brother in Hollywood. However, if Jonathan continues to churn out the quality and follow the same trajectory he has, don’t be surprised if he eclipses Christopher as the more talented sibling in due course.
Tell us, is Jonathan Nolan more talented than Christopher Nolan? Also, check out our list of the best Christopher Nolan films of all time.
