This paper address recent advances in forced assembly coextrusion processing, a technique which combines conventional coextrusion with a series of layer multiplier dies thereby making it possible to fabricate films with many thousands of layers. Films processed in this manner can readily be created with thousands of layers containing two or more alternating polymers. Layer thicknesses have been made in the range of several microns down to less than ten nanometers by varying the number of layers and the relative layer composition. Advances in layer uniformity, material requirements for nanolayered coextrusion, as well as the design of multilayered films with a gradient in layer thicknesses are discussed. Nanolayered films are of interest because of a potential for developing high value added materials systems with novel mechanical, transport, electrical, and optical properties. Specific examples of multilayered films systems will be discussed that result as individual layer thicknesses are reduced to the nanoscale. Nanolayer induced confined crystallization resulting in over a 300X decrease in material oxygen permeability will be described. A nanolayered film system exhibiting synergistic improvements in electrical breakdown and hysteresis was discovered as a potential dielectric capacitor film. Enhanced optical properties of nanolayered films will also be discussed pertaining to the creation of light weight, optical reflectors and the fabrication of a new class of polymer optical gradient refractive index (GRIN) lenses for improved imaging in lightweight and/or color corrected systems.