World-traveler

World-traveler would be a 2027 fantasy adventure live-action/puppetry hybrid film directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Nolan and Jeffrey Adriss & Will Matthews, and produced by Nolan and Emma Thomas. A co-production between Warner Bros. Pictures and Syncopy, the film would star Mahershala Ali and the voices of Anya Taylor-Joy, Taron Egerton, and Frank Welker, with Ali also serving as the film's narrator. Hans Zimmer would serve as the film's composer.

Development on an untitled film directed by Christopher Nolan would begin in early 2025 in Warner Bros. Pictures. The film's title would be announced alongside Addiss and Matthews's involvement as writers woud be revealed in June 2025. Mahershala Ali would be announced as the film's lead in December 2025, with Taylor-Joy and Egerton joining the cast the next month. Filming would begin in June 2026, and would take place in the United Kingdom. Jim Henson's Creature Shop would build puppet characters and provide practical effects for the film.

World-traveler would be released in July 27, 2027, and would become a critical and commercial success. Critics would praise the film's writing, themes, visuals, puppet designs, direction, performances, sense of wonder, and production values. The film would earn 1.25 million dollars at the worldwide box office, over a budget of 177 million dollars. The film would earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, as well as Acadey Awards for Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Productio Design.

Synopsis
Herman, an orphan backpacker since childhood, keeps moving all over the world... until one day, he sees a group of creatures emerging from a mysterious portal created througth a device, which he manages to steal while the creatures return hom. There, Herman discovers a mysterious world, and learns that, by taking the device, he became a "world-traveler", a figure that keeps traveling between several different dimensions. As he begins travel dimensions, he meets two particular creatures, who may help him find what he's been looking for all of his life.

Cast

 * Mahershala Ali as Herman, an orphan backpacker who becomes a "world-traveler" after stealing a portal. According to director Christopher Nolan, Ali would be cast due to "his ability to be both funny and a relaxed way, but at the same time very emotional". Ali would also provide first person narration for the film, which Nolan would feel it would give the film a "more personal feeling".

Voice cast

 * Anya Taylor-Joy as Darling, a young creature from another unvierse who meets Herman after getting lost from her family. Taylor-Joy would say that "the character is cute and charming, but at the same time kinda emotional because she misses her family terrible, and keeps channeling what her parents taught her". She would also say that" she begins to wonder what family should be in after meeting Herman".
 * Taron Egerton as Knight, an honorable, over-the-top, and friendly creature from a different universe who joins Herman and Darling after becoming endebted to them for saving his life. Egerton would describe him as "a source of comic relief with an emotional, brotherly side".
 * Frank Welker as Rampage, a dangerous monster from another dimension who tries to kill Herman and his friends after they prevent him from killing Knight.
 * Frank Oz as The Elder, a vulture-like creature from another dimension who explains to Herman his new life.

Puppeteers

 * Alice Dinnean as Darling
 * Neil Sterenberg as Knight
 * Damian Farrell as Rampage
 * Frank Oz as The Elder

Music
Recurring Christopher Nolan composer Hans Zimmer would compose and produce the film's score. Zimmer would draw inspiration from Trevor Jones' score for The Dark Crystal (1982), for his score for the film. Zimmer would create a theme for Herman that would require a minimal number of instruments in order to "catch the loneliness he has". Zimmer would compose a "sad and childike theme" for Darling, and a "mediaval and comical theme" for Knight. He would also compose a "bombastic and monstrous theme" for Rampage.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film would have a weighted rating of 96%, with an approval rating of 9/10, based on 244 reviews. The film's critical consensus would read, "Another thougth-provoking and visually impresive film by Christopher Nolan, World-traveler is a wondeful story fueled by emotional power and driven by high star power from Mahershala Ali and a delightfull group of puppets". On Metacritic, the film would have a weighted rating of 83 out of 100, based on 50 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Trivia

 * Anya Taylor-Joy, Taroon Egerton, Jeffrey Addiss ,Will Matthews, Alice Dinnean, Neil Sterenberg, and Damian Farrell previously worked together on the Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Ressistance (2019).