Franchisography

DUNKIRK (2017)

[https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/214-Dunkirk-1024x576.jpg]https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/214-Dunkirk.jpg A sailing trip through the path of a historical event in his youth lead Nolan to proposing a “Fury Road”-ified war movie that would depict the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II. To keep up a relentless pace while making the story more rich and complex, Nolan would choose to focus on three storylines: the land, the sea, and the air; tracked across three timelines: a week, a day, and an hour, all simultaneously. This is 2017’s DUNKIRK. Join Nick and Scott as they discuss the ins and outs of this historical event and how successfully they believe Nolan manages to pull it off. NEXT WEEK: Tenet Become a Premier Tier PATREON [https://www.patreon.com/dgp] supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick & Scott! Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw [https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw] Dueling Genre Associate Producer: Matt Bennett Mark Ybarra Harley Winfrey

INTERSTELLAR (2014)

[https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/213-Interstellar-1024x576.jpg]https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/213-Interstellar.jpg With a story that began with a blind date between a producer and a physicist, then evolved into a Steven Spielberg movie written by Jonathan Nolan, and eventually became a Christopher Nolan film about missing his kids that spanned the cosmos. This is 2014’s INTERSTELLAR Join Nick and Scott as they discuss revisiting Nolan’s polarizing film twelve years later, alternate casting ideas, robot enemies to robot ride or dies, and rude nurses. NEXT WEEK: Dunkirk Become a Premier Tier PATREON [https://www.patreon.com/dgp] supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick & Scott! Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw [https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw] Dueling Genre Associate Producer: Matt Bennett Mark Ybarra Harley Winfrey

INCEPTION (2010)

[https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/212-Inception-1024x427.jpg]https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/212-Inception.jpg Starting it’s inception as a horror film about “dream thieves”, Nolan would write and rewrite the screenplay for his dream heist film dozens of times over the course of a decade until a vacation with his family would inspire the final piece of the puzzle needed to complete the story. And while he would need 4 times the budget of The Prestige to fully realize the concept, The Dark Knight had proven that Christopher Nolan was a franchise in and of himself, so WB had no issues signing the check. This is 2010’s INCEPTION. Join Nick and Scott as they discuss why and how the rules behind the dream logic of Inception’s reverse brain heist work within its very Bond inspired set-pieces. NEXT WEEK: Interstellar Become a Premier Tier PATREON [https://www.patreon.com/dgp] supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick & Scott! Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw [https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw] Dueling Genre Associate Producer: Matt Bennett Mark Ybarra Harley Winfrey

THE PRESTIGE (2006)

[https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/211-Prestige-1024x653.jpg]https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/211-Prestige.jpg After taking on a studio film (2002’s Insomnia) and reinventing the superhero film (2005’s Batman Begins), Christopher Nolan finally had enough clout to fund the adaptation of a Christopher Priest novel that he had PLEDGED to be his next project when he pitched it to his brother Jonathan five years earlier. But the story of two rival magicians at the TURN of the century was more complicated to adapt than either of them initially believed and the screenplay would not be finished until mere days before the start of production. This is 2006’s THE PRESTIGE. Join Nick and Scott as they discuss a film they both believe is a masterpiece of cinematic narrative and the backlash it received at the time for “cheating” the ending. NEXT WEEK: Inception Become a Premier Tier PATREON [https://www.patreon.com/dgp] supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick & Scott! Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw [https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw] Dueling Genre Associate Producer: Matt Bennett Mark Ybarra Harley Winfrey

MEMENTO (2000)

[https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/210-Memento-1024x577.jpg]https://duelinggenre.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/210-Memento.jpg Season 4 of FRANCHISOGRAPHY begins with a look at the original feature films of Christopher Nolan, the filmmaker who became a franchise. And it all started with the breakout success of his second feature, 2000’s MEMENTO. Originally pitched to him on a long cross country road trip by his brother Jonathan “Jonah” Nolan who was working on a short story about a man with a particularly rare form of amnesia. Working on the story and the screenplay together in tandem, Nolan cracked the film when he realized he would have to put the audience into the experience of the protagonist by structuring the film in reverse. A bold storytelling choice that would get him the film turned down for being “too complex” by every studio in town… except one. Join Nick and Scott as they traverse backward through the plot of Nolan’s twisty thriller and discuss how Sir Chris went from making a nothing budget black and white feature on Saturdays with his friends, to a favorite film of college aged cinema bros everywhere. NEXT WEEK: The Prestige Become a Premier Tier PATREON [https://www.patreon.com/dgp] supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick & Scott! Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw [https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw] Dueling Genre Associate Producer: Matt Bennett Mark Ybarra Harley Winfrey