With director Christopher Nolan out promoting Interstellar and the recent announcement of the subtitle for Star Wars Episode VII – a.k.a. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – it was only a matter of time that the director would be asked about the film, seeing as he was once rumoured to have been under consideration to helm the latest Star Wars instalment.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Nolan was asked if he has always wanted to make a space epic to which he responded: “Very much so. I first saw Star Wars in 1977 when I was 7 years old, and I’ve never forgotten the incredible nature of that experience—the possibility of the screen opening up, sucking you in, and taking you to a different galaxy.”
After mentioning Star Wars, Nolan was asked about the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens and if he was approached to direct: “I’m pretty excited to see what J.J. is going to do with that. I’m excited to see that he’s shooting on film and actually built the Millennium Falcon. As far as whether or not I would have ever done it, the truth is I think I’d be afraid to touch it! He’s boldly going where he went before in Star Trek, and it takes colossal balls.”
Nolan then revealed he would have felt too much pressure directing Star Wars as he is a fan: “I’m a lot more comfortable trying to do my own thing than carrying the weight and expectation of the entire world—particularly 40-somethings like me who live and die with each new bit of information about Star Wars. But I’m very excited to see what he does.”
Christopher Nolan’s latest film Interstellar is out now in cinemas. Read our reviews here and here.
Originally published November 10, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
