Don’t be fooled by a headline that might have you thinking the creative team behind the episodic sequel to the cult classic comedy were aiming well beyond their station because Christopher Nolan has admitted in numerous interviews that he’s a huge fan of MacGruber.
The Academy Award-nominated director famed for crafting introspective, existential blockbusters on a massive scale, many of which come in for criticism due to their perceived lack of emotion or levity, can’t get enough of Will Forte’s bumbling detective. It’s bizarre, to say the least, but the creative team made a serious play to try and get him on board.
In an interview with Collider, showrunners Jorma Taccone and John Solomon revealed that they were fully aware of Nolan’s MacGruber fandom, and tried their hardest to get him to helm at least one installment of the show that premieres tomorrow on Peacock.
“We were relentless in pursuing him, like, he sent us a super sweet note, he couldn’t come to the table read, but we invited him to the table read. I honestly have been too up his butt…I wanted to see if he could get his throat ripped out, he didn’t have any time for that. We offered him any episode that he wanted to direct [laughs]. I think he’s gotten to a point where he’s like, ‘I’m not gonna actually be a part of your world, but I do appreciate it’.”
Despite his reputation for being one of the most popular and acclaimed filmmakers in the business, it would be a stretch to imagine Nolan lending his immense talents to a one-shot gig calling the shots on an episode of a raucously irreverent comedy. He’ll no doubt be watching MacGruber given his appreciation of the 2010 box office bomb turned instant cult classic, but we’ll have to imagine what might have been, had he taken up the offer.