When it comes to the biggest filmmakers in the industry today, what matters the most to the studios producing their films is their projects making millions at the box office. But Christopher Nolan is one such creator who combines the ability to create some of the most commercially successful with critically acclaimed masterpieces of modern cinema.
After his recent success collaborating with Universal Studios on his latest masterpiece Oppenheimer, the filmmaker has proven yet again that there’s no story that he cannot tell through the lens of a camera. But before working with the company in recent times, Nolan wanted to create a film adaptation of Jim Caviezel’s TV show that never happened, titled The Prisoner, which was the studios’ prized project years back.
Christopher Nolan Wanted To Adapt Jim Caviezel’s The Prisoner For Universal Studios Before Oppenheimer
When it comes to adapting an idea into a major motion picture, the filmmaker’s vision is what creates a true masterpiece for the ages. And when it comes to visionary directors in the film industry, There’s no one quite like Christopher Nolan. Associated with some of the most critically and commercially successful movies of all time, he has ensured people know he can do pretty much anything with a camera in hand.
But even with such prowess in direction and screenplay, he was unable to adapt Universal’s TV series The Prisoner into a film in the past.
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In his recent interview profile with Variety, the director opened up about working with the aforementioned production company for his latest masterpiece. Before this, he was known for working with Warner Bros. for his biggest cinematic projects, including Inception and the iconic The Dark Knight trilogy.
But along with them, the Dunkirk director was also looking forward to working with Universal on a project. Since the head of the company Donna Langley was famous for preserving talented individuals, especially filmmakers, Nolan was excited to work with her. Therefore, she assigned him to create a film adaptation of Caviezel’s 2009 miniseries.
But as he would later find out, it was easier assigned than done. In the interview, he said that he was unable to quite crack the code when it came to the proposed adaptation. After a long while of theorizing and going through the creative current, he figured he wasn’t quite up to the task, which left the adaptation unmade.
On the bright side, when Nolan approached Langley with his latest magnum opus, she greeted him with open arms as he and his wife Emma Thomas had made a close connection with her, and the rest is history.
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What Was The Prisoner About?
It’s no wonder that this mini-series, which featured Jim Caviezel as the main protagonist, was such a well-received series by the audience that even Nolan had trouble adapting it for the big screen.
The Prisoner tells the tale of a man, who is referred to as Six, who wakes up in a desert mountain location with some memories of his past self. Here, he’s introduced and welcomed into The Village, a place where everyone has a number for a name. He soon finds out about the head of this place, named Two, who Six realizes, is keeping him here as a prisoner despite telling him he’s a free man.
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The Prisoner, streaming on AMC+.
