What Is 'Blue Thunder' And Why Were There Rumors Christopher Nolan Was Going To Remake It?

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When no one knew what Christopher Nolan's next movie would be after Oppenheimer (which, of course, became The Odyssey), one of the strangest rumors was that Nolan was going to remake the 1983 John Badham film, Blue Thunder.

Now, I happen to love Blue Thunder. (So much, in fact, I did a deep dive on the film a few years ago with John Badham, but it is no longer on the internet, until today.) And I think its dark and disturbing themes about government spying translate better for a modern audience than I think they did in 1983. Anyway, I think Blue Thunder could very much be a nifty remake in the right hands.

Nolan was asked about this rumor and said he was, "bewildered." (I wish I had heard of this rumor when I was at that studio holiday party open bar with Nolan.) Nolan said, "I have absolutely no idea where it came from. And besides, I was always more of an Airwolf fan." I find this answer disappointing. Not that Nolan doesn't want to make Blue Thunder, but that he likes Airwolf. Airwolf was an CBS show that's basically a ripoff of the Blue Thunder film and was in direct competition with Blue Thunder the TV show on ABC, which is also a ripoff of the Blue Thunder movie. Both television series were basically just, "Hey, check out this cool helicopter." As opposed to the film, which had a lot to say. The film hates that Blue Thunder, the cool helicopter, exists.

As I mentioned, a few years ago I did a huge feature on Blue Thunder, with a new interview with John Badham,¹ but it's been erased from the internet. Since there will probably never be this much cultural interest in Blue Thunder ever again, I am going to use this opportunity to republish the full piece.

¹Also it's so weird that Badham's Blue Thunder and WarGames, another movie ahead of its time, but a massive hit, came out within three weeks of each other.

Also, Blue Thunder happens to be on Netflix right now, so it's very easy to watch and I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. Here is the original piece (which is free for free subscription tier members):

**1983's Blue Thunder Was Made For Today**

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