Nolan will never produce a film especially for a well-known streaming service like Netflix. Nolan is infamously defensive of cinema attendance and a relentless advocate of filming movies on film rather than digital streaming services.
Nolan stated in an interview with Indiewire that he is not interested in collaborating with Netflix, despite the platform offering well-known filmmakers like Bong Joon-ho substantial amounts of money (as well as even more creative freedom) to produce thrilling films like Okja.
Nolan did not sugarcoat his words when he said, “No. Well, why would you? If you make a theatrical film, it’s to be played in theaters,” answering the question of whether he’ll be down to helm a Netflix original without any financial incentives offered by the studio.
He is not against all streaming services. He was fond of Amazon Studios’ current business strategy, for instance, which usually allows its original films to screen in cinemas before releasing them on the Amazon Prime streaming service.
He stated that Netflix “has a bizarre aversion to supporting theatrical films. They have this mindless policy of everything having to be simultaneously streamed and released, which is obviously an untenable model for theatrical presentation. So they’re not even getting in the game, and I think they’re missing a huge opportunity.”
Christopher Nolan does not consider streaming services to be a cinematic breakthrough, as in his words, “We work in a mature business. I like to say we’re Heinz, we make ketchup. We’re not a tech company. The innovation in our industry has always been and should always be what goes on the screen, not what the screen is, not what the seats are, not whether they’ve got two drinks cup holders or one or whatever. That’s all irrelevant. It’s what we do as filmmakers, what we put on the screen, that’s where the potential is infinite and needs to be explored.”
