Christopher Nolan, who has supplied Warner Bros. with multiple blockbusters, has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the studio’s decision to release its entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously on the HBO Max streaming service.

“There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone,” said Nolan in an ET Online interview released on Monday. “It’s very, very, very, very messy. A real bait and switch. Yeah, it’s sort of not how you treat filmmakers and stars and people who these guys have given a lot for these projects. They deserved to be consulted and spoken to about what was going to happen to their work.”

Nolan’s “Tenet” was the last major tentpole movie to launch in movie theaters. The time-travel thriller has grossed US$57 million in North America for Warner Bros. in three months as moviegoers showed reluctance to return to multiplexes with the COVID-19 pandemic raging. “Tenet” topped US$300 million internationally. Nolan’s resume at Warner Bros. includes “Dunkirk,” the Dark Knight trilogy, “Inception” and “Interstellar.”

The studio stunned Hollywood on December 3 with its announcement that all 17 of its 2021 titles — including the fourth “Matrix,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Godzilla v. Kong,” “Dune” and “In the Heights” — would debut on HBO Max immediately upon their theatrical release as parent WarnerMedia faces the prospect of moviegoers continuing to shun theaters. Nolan’s said his reaction was “disbelief...especially the way in which they did.”

(SD-Agencies)