Steven Spielberg worked for a whole year on Interstellar, then decided against it: “It didn’t stick”

Screenshot aus einem Trailer zu Interstellar

Interstellar is one of the biggest sci-fi blockbusters of recent years – and that’s only because a legendary director did not direct the movie himself. At least that is what Steven Spielberg says, who worked on the film for an entire year before ultimately leaving it to someone else. 

Where does this info come from? The American director Steven Spielberg spoke in a new interview with Empire Magazine (via gamesradar+) for the first time about his work on Interstellar, which would later become one of Christopher Nolan’s best films. Spielberg had already established himself as a legend in Hollywood with films like Jaws, E.T., Schindler’s List, and Jurassic Park.

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German trailer for the sci-fi blockbuster ‘Interstellar’ by Christopher Nolan

Spielberg worked for a year on Interstellar, gave up – does not regret it

What does the director say about his work on the film? According to his own statement, Spielberg worked on Interstellar for a year. “I became fascinated with it,” the director recounts, adding that he spent a lot of time at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. There, he spoke with the scientists and aerospace engineers for research on the film.

When asked how far the project had progressed, Spielberg explains that there were only two drafts for the screenplay. He had them written by none other than Jonathan Nolan – Christopher Nolan’s brother.

At that point, Spielberg was still not completely convinced about the film. “It didn’t stick,” he confesses to Empire. Jonathan Nolan then told him, “If there comes a point where you decide not to make this movie, I can tell you who’s gonna grab it. He’s already bugging me about it. And that’s my brother Chris.”

So it actually turned out that Spielberg ended his work on the film after a year and handed the reins over to Christopher Nolan. And the director is still confident today that it was the right decision: “Interstellar was a much better movie in Chris Nolan’s hands than it would have been in mine.”

Interstellar then became one of the most important films by Christopher Nolan and is considered by many to be one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. Are you also fans and looking for a similar experience? Then we have just the right list for you: 7 movies like Interstellar

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.