Christopher Nolan Was Originally Hired to Direct This Iconic Historical Movie

Christopher Nolan recently shared an intriguing story in Empire Magazine about a major twist early in his directing career.

The filmmaker revealed that he was originally hired by Warner Bros. to direct the 2004 epic historical film “Troy” after his 2002 thriller “Insomnia.” However, plans changed when Wolfgang Petersen, who had originally developed the project, wanted the film back after his canceled “Batman vs Superman” project.

“I was originally hired by Warner Bros. to direct Troy. Wolfgang [Petersen] had developed it, and so when the studio decided not to proceed with his superhero movie [‘Batman Vs Superman’], he wanted it back,” Nolan explained.

Interestingly, Nolan didn’t walk away empty-handed. Instead, he went on to direct “Batman Begins” in 2005, a project that writer David Goyer described as a “consolation prize” from Warner Bros. Meanwhile, Petersen’s career took a different path. Despite “Troy” earning over $490 million worldwide, he faced criticism for the film and directed only one more movie, “Poseidon,” before stepping back from Hollywood.

Nolan also revealed that the world of “The Odyssey,” which shares the same mythological setting as “Troy,” has fascinated him for decades. “At the end of the day, it was a world that I was very interested to explore. So it’s been at the back of my mind for a very long time. Certain images, particularly. How I wanted to handle the Trojan horse, things like that,” he said.

“Troy,” directed by Petersen and written by David Benioff, was filmed across locations in Malta, Mexico, and Britain’s Shepperton Studios. The movie starred Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger, Orlando Bloom, and others.

It condenses the ten-year Trojan War into a short period, focusing on the Greek army led by Achilles and the defending Trojans under Hector. The film’s ending, showing the sack of Troy, comes from Quintus Smyrnaeus’s Posthomerica rather than the Iliad, which concludes with Hector’s death and funeral.

The movie grossed nearly $497 million globally, ranking as the 60th highest-grossing film at the time. Critics gave it mixed reviews, praising performances from Pitt and Bana but noting the story strayed from the original Iliad. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design and was the eighth highest-grossing film of 2004.

It’s fascinating to see how a single change in studio plans shaped Nolan’s path, eventually leading him to redefine the modern superhero genre with “Batman Begins.”

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