Universal has new projects in development all over its theme park portfolio.
Demolition is underway at Universal Studios Florida, where something is coming to replace Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Demo is set to begin at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure next door, where something is coming to replace much of The Lost Continent. Multiple expansion pads await new experiences at Epic Universe.
Universal Studios Hollywood has promised new experiences on its Studio Tour. There's a new kids' park opening in the Dallas area next year. And topping it all, Universal is building a new theme park in England.
It's clearly a good time to be a Universal theme parks fan. But fans can be greedy. So allow me one indulgent wish to place atop my Universal Parks expansion wish list.
Could someone at Universal please sell Christopher Nolan on designing a theme park land?
Nolan is the one director in Hollywood at the moment whose name can open a film. Many other directors are putting out great films, but Nolan's name on the picture guarantees at least initial box office success. His next film will be "The Odyssey," based on the Greek epic poem attributed to Homer. That production has taken over a good bit of the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot over the summer.
His latest film was the Academy Award-winning "Oppenheimer," which won Nolan his first Best Director Oscar. But all of Nolan's films create distictive worlds that beg the viewer to explore.
On screen, that exploration is defined and necessarily limited by Nolan's lens. But in a theme park, guests could be allowed greater freedom to explore Nolan's vision.
To date, the only glimpses that theme park fans have had into Nolan's world have been through The Dark Knight coasters at the Six Flags theme parks. But those indoor wild mouse coasters were not Nolan productions. The were just decorated with iconography from Nolan's Dark Knight films, to which Six Flags held the theme park rights via its DC Comics license with Warner Bros.
But Nolan does not film for Warner Bros. anymore. He directs in a production deal with Universal. That opens the possibility of a collaboration with Universal Creative.
Nolan has been seen in the past touring Universal's theme parks. Whether that was a simple courtesy following his move to Universal or something more, no one outside the company knows. But Universal Creative has shown, most recent with Epic Universe, that it can work well with filmmakers and other creators to bring cinematic worlds to life in its theme parks.
A Nolan-led land in a Universal theme park does not have to be based upon one of his films, although an Odyssey-themed land replacing The Lost Continent seems quite tempting to imagine. Universal has the cash to offer Nolan the opportunity to create an original concept for a theme park land, should that creative challenge entice him. With his films' box office success, Nolan's name has proven to have the brand value necessary to launch a theme park land.
Can you imagine a design charrette with Nolan, Universal's Steven Spielberg and top minds from Universal Creative? I want to. More than that, I want to experience whatever that dream team of Hollywood and theme park talent might imagine.
So as we await official word (or, at least, credible leaks from people with blueprints in hand) about what Universal is building next, allow me to daydream about Christopher Nolan getting the opportunity to tell one of his stories in a new medium - a Universal theme park.
Love all Nolans films (except Tennet that just doesn't do it for me) but while the idea is fun I am afraid we left the land before we enter and went into a coaster we will sit on in the future.
I think Nolan should stick to movies. He has plenty on his plate, and while I think it might be worth a discussion to bounce ideas off of him, I would not want him to have a JK Rowling-type role where the power of veto could throw some serious monkey wrenches into the development process. I certainly think he has the type of creative mind and the catalogue that would be primed for theme park applications, but he's probably better as a peripheral advisor role like what Spielberg, Lucas, and Cameron has filled on their IPs.
The other issue I see with many of Nolan's IP's is that they are far more gritty and dark than your typical theme park lands/attractions. Universal has cornered the market on attractions where "something goes wrong", but Nolan's themes tend to not just go wrong, but often stay wrong and expose the worst of human nature for exploration as a morality play as opposed to following the journey of the hero.
I think the success of a Nolanland depends on the IP Universal would have access to. Oppenheimer is pretty limited, but the Odyssey could make an intriguing land (a plus-up of Lost Continent). An original Nolan-guided land would be equally tantalizing. Otherwise, if they somehow get access to the WB Nolan catalogue, Interstellar is the ripest "theme park ride" opportunity.
Imagine traversing a wormhole within the Endurance, complete with TARS & CASE robots, while perhaps replicating the docking sequence from the film.
Apart from the moon coaster section in the Fallon ride and the general ambiance of Epic Universe/Celestial park, there really isn't a space-themed attraction in a domestic Universal park. Disney has quite a few, not even counting any Star Wars rides. Interstellar would add a theme we haven't seen much in the Universal parks.
"Apart from the moon coaster section in the Fallon ride and the general ambiance of Epic Universe/Celestial park, there really isn't a space-themed attraction in a domestic Universal park."
Huh?? M.I.B, E.T., Transformers, and the War of the Worlds set at USH aren't "spacey" enough for you?
All of those movies take place on Earth, Russell.
I think an Inception-darkride-coaster would be a trip!
I know that non-IP lands and attractions are a no-go for Universal and Disney but imagine if they let Nolan run wild with an original idea instead of just taking one of his movies and adapting it.
Nearly all of his movies, the upcoming Odyssey being the only exception, are set in the "real" world after all and he's always leaned into gritty, realistic stories. With that in mind I'd love to see a land themed around something generic but where there is more than initially meets the eye. A cityscape with unusual storefronts leading to attractions themed around something fantastical yet grounded...time travel, aliens, or even just a solid crime mystery. Unfortunately something like that would never have the draw of the latest Harry Potter/Marvel/Minions/etc attraction even if it was 10x higher quality and thats why it won't ever happen.
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Christopher Nolan's theme park land: a land inside a land inside a land.