September 14, 2025, 4:24 PM ·
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.
Replies (5)
