• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
People convinced Friends gave Christopher Nolan the plot idea for Interstellar

Home> Film & TV

Updated 20:06 27 Nov 2023 GMTPublished 20:05 27 Nov 2023 GMT

People convinced Friends gave Christopher Nolan the plot idea for Interstellar

They're 'pretty sure' the legendary filmmaker was inspired by Joey in Friends

Jess Battison

Jess Battison

The man behind Oppenheimer, behind The Dark Knight, behind Inception, apparently a man who gets his inspiration from Friends.

Well, it could seem like quite a stretch, but people reckon there’s at least a possibility Christopher Nolan got one of his plot ideas from the sitcom.

Yep, some fans think the legendary filmmaker may have struck inspiration after watching an episode of Friends.

Advert

And for none other than the 2014 sci-fi, Interstellar.

The synopsis for Nolan’s movie starring the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Timothée Chalamet reads: “When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.”

Ranking at number one on UNILAD’s list of the creator’s best movies, some users over on Reddit actually say they’re ‘pretty sure’ he got the idea from Joey Tribbiani.

In The One with the Screamer, the character stars in a pretty terrible play where he heads off to space, not to return for many, many years.

Advert

The One that Fans Think Inspired Nolan.
NBC

Users shared a clip of Joey’s stage character, which, with some imagination, does share some similarities to the plot of Interstellar.

His character says in the play: “I’m gonna go to Blargon 7 in search of alternative fuels.

“But when I return, 200 years from now, you’ll be long gone but I won’t have aged at all.

Advert

“So you tell your great-great-grandaughter to look me up… because Adrienne, baby, I’m gonna want to meet her.”

Ok, yes, it’s a push. But fans commented: “That EXACT thought went through my head when I watched that episode.”

Interstellar.
Paramount Pictures

And another added: “I thought the same thing when I watched this episode.”

Advert

Obviously, the original post is a joke but you’ve got to laugh at the irony of how similar this 90’s Friends scene is to the Nolan blockbuster.

Turns out, however, he was actually inspired by something much older than Friends; George Lucas’ first Star Wars from 1977.


Advert

Nolan told NPR he was influenced by earlier space movies: “I mean, there's a golden age of blockbusters that I grew up in: You had Lucas, you also had [Steven] Spielberg, you know, Close Encounters [of the Third Kind], these films. They really spoke to me about the potential of what movies can do in terms of taking an audience on an adventure.”

So less Friends, more lightsabers and Death Stars - got it.

Featured Image Credit: NBC / Paramount

Topics: Christopher Nolan, Conspiracy Theories, Entertainment, Film and TV, Friends, Reddit

Jess Battison
Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

X

@jessbattison_

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Netflix viewers have last chance to watch legendary Christopher Nolan movie labeled 'best film ever made'
  • Interstellar has now turned just under an hour and a half old
  • Man has 'mind-blowing' new theory about Interstellar that has people worried they 'won't sleep' until it's confirmed
  • Friends fans are pointing out a plot hole over 20 years later that's leaving them divided

Choose your content:

an hour ago
7 hours ago
13 hours ago
a day ago
  • an hour ago

    Netflix adds all six seasons of ‘wild’ crime drama fans are hooked on

    "Now everyone else will get to finally see this hidden gem."

    Film & TV
  • 7 hours ago

    Where to watch 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later as 28 Years Later is released

    The third instalment of the franchise hits theatres in America on June 20

    Film & TV
  • 13 hours ago

    The Office fans frustrated after spotting 'weird' Netflix 'censorship' of hilarious Michael Scott scene

    Maybe you'll notice this on your next re-watch...

    Film & TV
  • a day ago

    248 million hour Netflix binge sees viewers watch all three seasons of number one show in a week

    The return of this Netflix drama has delighted fans

    Film & TV