Villeneuve is certainly getting closer and closer, but Oppenheimer just took Nolan to a whole other level. With all the awards he's winning, and all the Oscars he's about to win, Nolan is now in rarified air. He's gone from blockbuster guy to now adding prestige awards/drama guy to his resume, something we haven't seen since Spielberg (think Jurassic Park / Schindler's List).
That, and Nolan's name itself has as much brand recognition as most major franchises. Even my sisters and my parents know that when a trailer says "A Christopher Nolan Film" it's a huge deal, and will show up for it.
Villeneuve simply isn't at that level, as most general audiences don't yet know his name. He's also at a disadvantage in that he never had a major superhero franchise like Nolan, which is obviously how Nolan's name became so widely known in the first place.
But Villeneuve will eventually get there, and as of now I think he's just as good, if not even better in certain areas.
All I know is that between them, it's us who wins. Barring any tragedies, we basically get either a Nolan or a Villeneuve movie roughly every year for the next 20 years or so (with gaps here and there, of course). People complain about the movies not being as good as they used to be, yet we've never seen anything like what Nolan and Villeneuve are putting out on a consistent basis. It's just mind-blowing stuff every single time, where they're basically trying to one-up each other each time, while also having become genuinely good friends in the process. It's so awesome to see, and I could not be more grateful that we're here to witness it all.
