OPPENHEIMER opens July 21st

One of Christopher Nolan’s more recent acclaimed hits, 2017’s DUNKIRK, depicted a pivotal moment from the earlier days of World War II, as told from the point of view of allied European soldiers trapped on the titular French port town. The filmmaker is returning to that revolutionary era with a film that, this time, depicts the moments that led up to the war’s end, told from the perspective of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who created the United States’ final solution. Of course, anyone who knows just what kind of ambitious and provocative filmmaker Nolan is should be expecting something far more than a simple history lesson with OPPENHEIMER and understand why it is one of the upcoming 2023 movies we are anticipating the most. See for yourself in the following guide some of the most essential facts about the biopic, which is set to release on Friday, July 21st.

Showing In IMAX And IMAX 70MM

It is no secret that Christopher Nolan relishes the chance to tell stories on the biggest screen possible, having previously shot notable titles like THE DARK KNIGHT and DUNKIRK in IMAX. The filmmaker is doing the same with OPPENHEIMER, which will also be shown in a 70mm IMAX print. This better accentuates our earlier assumption that the three-hour, nine-minute does not aim to simply inform its audience about its central historical subject, but to immerse them in the story and the earth-shattering events it depicts.

Cillian Murphy Stars

Leading the OPPENHEIMER cast in the title role – as Deadline confirmed – is Cillian Murphy in, not just his second collaboration with Nolan on a World War II-era film after he starred as a refugee soldier in DUNKIRK, but his sixth time working with the filmmaker overall. The actor also appeared in all three installments of the DARK KNIGHT trilogy as Batman foe Dr. Jonathan “Scarecrow” Crane and had his own subconscious invaded in the mind-bending, 2010 Academy Award® winner, INCEPTION.

An Ensemble Cast

Rarely has a film ensemble been so extensive and star-studded as the OPPENHEIMER cast, which also includes – according to another Deadline article – Cillian Murphy’s A QUIET PLACE PART II co-star, Emily Blunt, as the titular scientist’s wife, Katherine; former MCU actor Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss; INTERSTELLAR’s Matt Damon as Lt. General Leslie Groves – both also confirmed by Deadline – and Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, as we learned from THR. There will also be another DARK KNIGHT movie reunion when Gary Oldman appears as President Harry S. Truman – once again confirmed by Deadline – and a TENET reunion with Kenneth Branagh starring alongside Nolan movie newcomers Rami Malek, Josh Peck, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, and Jack Quaid. There are so, so many more where they come from, but you will just have to see them all when the movie comes out.

Based On The Atomic Bomb Inventor

As established above, OPPENHEIMER focuses on the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and, specifically, the events surrounding his invention of the atomic bomb, which was detonated over the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the end of WWII. Nolan was part of Universal’s CinemaCon 2023 showcase to promote the movie, which he described as a “cinematic tale” about “both dreams and nightmares.” We can infer that the filmmaker is referring to the scientist’s aspirations to change the world with his creation, but also the horrifying aftermath this effort would perpetuate.

Christopher Nolan Writes And Directs

Nolan is serving as both the director and writer of OPPENHEIMER, which he adapted from Martin Sherwin and Kai Bird’s Pulitzer Prize-winning non-fiction book, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. With a runtime of around three hours – as he confirmed to TotalFilm – the movie is also his longest yet, which is really saying something considering the majority of his films surpass the two-hour mark. The feature-length highlights of the filmmaker’s resume also include the highly inventive 2000 crime thriller, MEMENTO; his 2002 remake of the 1997 Norwegian mystery, INSOMNIA, and his twisted 2006 adaptation of Christopher Priest’s novel about warring magicians, THE PRESTIGE.

The world was never the same after J. Robert Oppenheimer unveiled his invention. Could Nolan’s biopic have a similar effect on cinema? See for yourself when OPPENHEIMER comes to an AMC Theatres location near you!

 OPPENHEIMER opens July 21st