Sumith Prasad
In the sixth episode of HBO’s comedy series ‘The Franchise,’ Eric Bouchard gets shaken by the news of Christopher Nolan’s impending arrival to his production set. The possibility of making a movie in front of one of the best filmmakers of his generation scares the director immensely. However, he also wishes to display his skills to the renowned technician to impress the latter with the hope that he will be considered to helm ‘Blood and Iron,’ a biopic based on the life of Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who is known as the Iron Chancellor. In reality, we may not need to be hopeful about a period drama about German unification from Nolan!
Christopher Nolan Hasn’t Revealed Any Plans to Produce a Bismarck Biopic
As of now, Christopher Nolan is not involved in a biopic about Otto von Bismarck, the statesman who played a crucial role in the unification of Germany. The fictional project must have been conceived to reveal Eric Bouchard’s wish to become a filmmaker like Nolan. Eric became a prominent filmmaker and surfaced on the radar of Maximum Studios by helming an indie film like Nolan’s first two features, ‘Following’ and ‘Memento.’ Like the real-life filmmaker, the acclaim Eric received for his work led him to a studio system and the superhero genre.
In a way, ‘Tecto: Eye of the Storm’ is Eric’s ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy. However, while Nolan delivered impressive works without making any creative compromises, the fictional filmmaker has struggled to find his own voice within the studio system. He is not making the movie he envisioned, especially after the inclusion of unwanted cameos and product placements. For Eric, Nolan is who he wants to be. The Academy Award winner is his guiding light and inspiration. Therefore, he aspires to make his voice heard by helming a biopic like ‘Oppenheimer.’
As far as Eric is concerned, ‘Oppenheimer’ represents the best of both worlds. The film not only grossed nearly a billion dollars at the worldwide box office but also won seven Academy Awards. To follow in the footsteps of the creator of the movie, Eric wants to helm a biopic about a person who is similar to J. Robert Oppenheimer, the inspiration behind Nolan’s work. Oppenheimer’s involvement in developing nuclear weapons rewrote the history of the world, similar to how the diplomatic decisions made by Otto von Bismarck changed the fates of Germany and Europe, for that matter. As a European, Eric sees Bismarck as the Oppenheimer of his continent.
Thus, the Bismarck biopic mentioned in ‘The Franchise’ is only a fictional detail conceived to explore the aspirations of Eric. Even though we won’t be able to watch ‘Blood and Iron’ from Nolan, we can eagerly await the latter’s next directorial work, which is slated to come out on July 17, 2026. The plot details of the movie are currently under wraps, but it will feature Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, and Zendaya.
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