Why Christopher Nolan Never Made Inception 2

Despite the critical and financial success of the original, fans should not be expecting an Inception sequel to ever happen. Director Christopher Nolan’s Inception hit theaters in July 2010, establishing itself as an intelligent albeit mind-bending blockbuster that sparked extended conversations about its intricate worldbuilding and plot. Despite so much time passing since it was released, there are still big questions about the movie – particularly Inception‘s ending. However, it remains very unlikely that an Inception sequel will ever fill in those blanks.

Leonardo DiCaprio fronted the Inception cast as Dom Cobb – the leader of a group of highly-trained criminals who specialize in extracting information from a person’s dreams. Between constructing elaborate worlds, and earning the trust of the target, all was going well until they were asked to do the impossible. The timeless premise makes it one of the best out of all of Christopher Nolan’s movies. Inception was a crime thriller with instant franchise potential written all over it. With Nolan established as a director and the lasting legacy of the first movie, a sequel would seem like a no-brainer, which makes why there has been no Inception 2 an ever-pressing question.

Inception Was Only Meant To Be A Single Story

Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster just doesn’t need a follow-up

It’s evident that the Inception the story doesn’t need to be returned to — it’s complete, at least as far as Cobb’s arc is concerned. Inception‘s ending is famously open-ended but with no clear teases for a sequel. With that in mind, it’s clear Inception was only ever meant to be a standalone story. Inception works so well, in part, because it is the kind of deep premise that inspires endless conversation. While an entire sequel with a different plot and new characters would be appreciated by many, it isn’t needed. Inception functions very well as its own movie with no promise of a sequel and is clear in what it’s trying to achieve.

There’s also the fact that, for Nolan, the task of simply writing Inception was a Herculean feat. It took Nolan over a decade to actually write the Inception script with its confusing plot. The fact he came in on time and under budget is just the cherry on top of this pre-production story. Nolan’s dedication to making sure the story was there over the course of ten years is a sure sign that writing a second Inception film would be off the table if only because it would be such a draining effort.

Christopher Nolan Doesn’t Make Sequel Films To Original Ideas

The director continuing Inception’s story would have broken a career-long trend

Unlike other directors, Nolan has never so much as publicly pondered the idea of returning to the world of Inception in a sequel. As far as we can tell, there has always been and will only ever be one Inception. This seems to be in line with his usual approach as, despite several of his movies being massive successes, Nolan has largely avoided sequels to his work.

There were whispers that Nolan begrudgingly signed back on for
The Dark Knight Rises
and may have been ready to move on from the franchise.

The clear exception here is Nolan’s work on the Dark Knight Trilogy, which he directed from 2005-2012. But even then, there were whispers that Nolan begrudgingly signed back on for The Dark Knight Rises and may have been ready to move on from the franchise. Generally speaking, Nolan has historically poured his heart into a single project rooted in an original script and then proceeded to move on to the next project without looking back.

Christopher Nolan Has Had Other Projects To Focus On

There’s rarely a time when Nolan isn’t moving forward with fresh ideas

Just because Nolan has let go of Inception 2 does not mean he’s been wanting for work; quite the opposite, in fact. Since Inception hit theaters in July 2010, Nolan has been hard at work as a director (not to mention writing and producing). After Inception, Nolan finished out his Batman trilogy with the aforementioned The Dark Knight Rises. He also went on to direct Interstellar, which tells the story of a team of astronauts in search of a new home with planet Earth on the brink of extinction.

In 2017, Nolan stepped into the war genre with
Dunkirk
, which recounted the British army’s evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk from three different perspectives.

In 2017, Nolan stepped into the war genre with Dunkirk, which recounted the British army’s evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk from three different perspectives. Then, Tenet continued Nolan’s fascination with time with a bold spy thriller with a time-travel twist. Nolan followed Tenet with Oppenheimer, the real-life story of the man who created the atomic bomb. With such big ideas to explore, it is not surprising that Nolan isn’t overly interested in revisiting Inception.

Could Someone Else Make Inception 2?

Another director could step in to make a sequel to Nolan’s mind-bending dream adventure

As much as an Inception sequel doesn’t seem likely, it is hard to ignore all the possible storylines there are still left to explore in the fascinating sci-fi world that Nolan created. The ability to enter people’s dreams is a thrilling one, and lends itself to many different kinds of stories beyond the heist movie set-up in the original. However, perhaps the best way forward for the franchise is to make Inception 2 without Nolan. With Dom’s story wrapped up nicely, a whole new tale can be told and Nolan doesn’t need to be the one to tell it.

It would be a daunting task to ask another filmmaker to follow up on Nolan’s
Inception
.

It would be a daunting task to ask another filmmaker to follow up on Nolan’s Inception. However, this has been done successfully before with other beloved sci-fi movies. Alien and Blade Runner might have seemed like impossible movies to make without Ridley Scott, but their sequels have been praised by fans. Inception is a movie with so much interesting world-building that it seems like a waste to leave it at one movie, especially as fans have spent many years understanding how that world works. While it would be understandable if Nolan was hesitant to let go of the movie he created, he might find another filmmaker who can do justice to the world he created.

Inception 2 Would Ruin The First Movie’s Perfect Ending

Nolan’s subjective ending for 2010’s Inception is a brilliant way to conclude the story

Although Inception‘s ending leaves a frustrating number of unanswered questions about Nolan’s cerebral world, that’s pretty much the point. For every piece of solid lore introduced throughout the movie, the script presents another unsolvable riddle that can be endlessly debated. This is perhaps best demonstrated during Inception‘s closing scene. Swathes of viewers have hotly contested each other’s theories for over a decade about whether Cobb’s totem would ever have stopped spinning, but it’s impossible to arrive at a definite consensus – just as Nolan intended.

While Inception 2 could technically happen without DiCaprio’s involvement, it would be a risky move not to include the actor in a speculative sequel. By bringing him back, a second Inception movie would need to address whether Cobb was still dreaming or whether he had actually made it home to his family. One option is a little too predictable, and the other stands the possibility of being really depressing. So, by leaving the movie’s conclusion so beautifully subjective, Nolan is essentially ensuring that Inception maintains its legendary status.