Christopher Nolan Earnestly Referenced Diary Of A Wimpy Kid While Promoting Oppenheimer, And The Internet Is Obsessed
The hype for Christopher Nolan’s new movie Oppenheimer is real. The film promises intense special effects, and early reactions have praised Nolan for one of his most epic movies yet. The Oppenheimer cast is unmatched, as it features massive movie stars like Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon and more. The cast also includes some throwback actors from Y2K children’s content, like Josh Peck from Drake and Josh, and Devon Bostick from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies. The latter actor was referenced in a recent interview with Nolan, prompting an unexpected shoutout.
The Dark Knight director was recently interviewed by the popular Tik Tok creator @guywithamoviecamera, who asked him about his latest film. During their conversation, the young interviewer asked Nolan about Bostick, mentioning that his familiarity with the actor was from his turn as Rodrick in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Upon the mention, the Oscar nominated filmmaker said:
Rodrick Rules
The tagline is a reference to one of the book titles from the children’s series, and is also the title of the second Wimpy Kid movie. The reference indicates that Nolan is relatively familiar with the children’s comedy series, at least enough to know what they are called. This is completely surprising coming from the Tenet filmmaker, whose complex gritty storylines and themes could not be more different from the tone of the Wimpy Kid series. You can see a TikTok from the moment below:
Fans couldn’t get enough of the moment and were in utter disbelief that Nolan was able to make such a reference. The Wimpy Kid series means a lot to Gen-Zers who grew up reading the kooky books and watching the campy movies they spawned. Both the movies and books have spawned memes and internet jokes, and that feels so separate from the cultural content the Oppenheimer director would likely be interested in. You can see some of the fan comments below:
@_Karajean: hearing christopher nolan say rodrick rules is so funny
@g1nger.b1tch: Indie director Christopher Nolan knows of the blockbuster hit film “rodrick rules”
@Hdub110: WHY DOES CHRISTOPHER NOLAN KNOW ABOUT RODERICK RULES???
@mcfigtography: Dude got a sound bite of Nolan saying Roderick Rules. What the hell is happening
Even the official Diary of a Wimpy Kid TikTok account couldn’t believe Nolan was familiar with Wimpy Kid content. The page commented:
This is wild
I guess the impact of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has spanned generations, even finding its way to one of the world’s most prevalent 21st century filmmakers. Maybe it was his performance in Rodrick Rules that got Devon Bostick the role in Oppenheimer. Nolan teases that Bostick has a big, important moment in the film, so clearly there was something special that led to the actor’s casting. He has come a long way since the children's series, and has been recast in more recent adaptations. Aside from his appearance in the Wimpy Kid movies, Bostick has also starred in Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and two films within the Saw franchise.
You can Devon Bostick in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which hits theaters on July 21st. You can also revisit him as Rodrick in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, which are all streaming with a Disney+ subscription. For more information about other films heading to cinemas and streaming later this year, make sure to consult our 2023 movie release schedule.
