For the longest time, horror was a genre many actors and directors used as a launch pad for their careers. Actors were given the chance to show a wide range of emotions on screen, while directors were able to prove they could pull off big thrills on a typically microscopic budget. James Gunn, James Wan, Adam Wingard, David F. Sandberg, Nia DaCosta, and Scott Derrickson are all horror directors who found success with independent genre pictures only to go on and make massive blockbusters, and we’ve honestly lost count of how many actors became household names thanks to horror, only to go on to bigger and “better” (see: mainstream and critically acclaimed) projects. The horror-to-Oscar-winner pipeline is plentiful, but it doesn’t often flow in the opposite direction.
Well, that’s going to change thanks to “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan, whose 2026 mystery movie is allegedly going to be a vampire period piece starring Tom Holland and Matt Damon. Let me be explicitly clear in noting that a Christopher Nolan vampire movie is still very much a rumor, but it’s being reported by former /Film writer and current iO9 and Gizmodo writer Germain Lussier. We know in our heart of hearts that Lussier wouldn’t report on something like this unless the rumor had legs, so we’re sharing the information with you all knowing that Nolan could pop online tomorrow and be like, “Actually, I’m directing a dramatic retelling of the Leopold and Loeb murders set in Silicon Valley” and we’ll all be equally as excited. (For the record, that last part is not an active rumor, I just invented a dream project as a hypothetical because sometimes it’s fun to use /Film as my own diary.)
And sure, it does seem a little strange that Nolan would be courting a 1920s vampire story when Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” is about to come out — but as far as this writer is concerned, more vampire movies will always be a good thing.
What would a Christopher Nolan vampire movie even look like?
As a creature, vampires are incredibly emotional monsters, and considering Christopher Nolan is such a student of philosophy and analysis, I honestly have no idea what his take on vampires would look like. There’s also an inherent queerness to vampires, and Nolan is a pretty aggressively hetero director. Let me be clear: that’s not a bad thing, it’s just a fascinating direction for him to pivot into a territory that seems so … out of his wheelhouse. Perhaps that’s what excites him about the challenge, but then again, we’re operating off of a rumor here so perhaps I’m thinking too much about something that isn’t even real.
Deadline senior reporter Justin Kroll said as much on social media, writing “I would tread lightly on the Nolan plot detail rumors that are out there. I’ve heard them all and most have been denied so until the big guy says what this is, take everything with a grain of salt.” Don’t worry, I’ve grabbed an entire bag of movie theater big pretzel salt before I continue fantasy booking.
As immortal creatures, vampires do fit in line with Nolan’s obsession with themes of time and our perception of it, so I could very much see Nolan tackling a vampire story that’s more heady than horny. Personally, I’d love it if Tom Holland was an ancient vampire with a babyface who has to show Matt Damon the undead ropes.
As this is currently still a rumor, there are no confirmed details about the project at this time save for Tom Holland and Matt Damon starring. We do know, however, that Universal has booked IMAX theaters for a release on July 17, 2026, so we’re still getting this on the biggest screens possible.
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