Christopher Nolan has ruled out ever directing a romantic comedy, telling Jimmy Fallon he would be “terrified” to attempt one of the toughest genres in filmmaking, even as he revealed he’s newly open to trying his hand at horror instead.

During his first appearance on The Tonight Show, Fallon jokingly floated the idea of a Nolan rom-com, prompting a firm response from the director. 

“I think doing a rom-com would be incredibly difficult,” Nolan said. 

“I love watching those movies. But, no, I think people who direct comedy, people who do comedy, I think that’s one of the hardest things in the world to make people laugh that way.” 

He went on to explain what sets comedy apart from the genres he typically works in, pointing to the immediacy of audience reaction as the key risk. 

“When you make a film, if I show a film to people and maybe they don’t respond to bits of it, I’m like, ‘Ah, they don’t get it. Whatever.’ There’s no hiding behind that when you do comedy. So, I would be terrified of doing anything like that.”

Nolan, whose filmography spans sci-fi epics, historical dramas and superhero blockbusters, has never made a straightforward comedy, though his films do carry romantic elements woven into larger dramatic or action frameworks. 

While comedy remains off the table, Nolan has separately expressed growing interest in horror. 

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said working on some of The Odyssey‘s more unsettling sequences had “very much” whetted his appetite for the genre, though he cautioned that horror “has to be approached very carefully” to be done well. 

The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway, is now playing in theatres and has crossed $600 million at the global box office.