We got the briefest of glimpses at Christopher Nolan’s latest, ‘Oppenheimer’, back in July via the teaser.
At last, though, we have the first proper trailer for the film, which promises musings on the destructive nature of humanity and plenty of shots of Cillian Murphy as the titular, real-life scientist for whom the movie is named looking horrified at what his discoveries have wrought.
Nolan here is adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning book ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. It chronicles how he was part of the infamous Manhattan Project and played a key role in the creation of atomic weapons, yet later came to have complicated feelings about their deadly power. He lobbied for international control of nuclear power and opposed the creation of the even more destructive hydrogen bomb.
Cillian Murphy stars in 'Oppenheimer,' written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Emily Blunt is playing Oppenheimer’s wife, biologist, and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, with Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project and Robert Downey, Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Florence Pugh portrays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, who turns out to have a hidden agenda, while Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller. Michael Angarano is physicist Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.
Also among the cast? Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Scott Grimes, Dylan Arnold, Olivia Thirlby, Olli Haaskivi, Matthew Modine, Gustaf Skarsgård (yes, another son of Stellan, and aged between Alexander and Bill), Jason Clarke, David Dastmalchian, Alden Ehrenreich, Casey Affleck, Tony Goldwyn, Alex Wolff, Josh Peck, Brian d’Arcy James, David Krumholtz… the list goes on, though only a few are glimpsed in the trailer.
(Center) Cillian Murphy stars in 'Oppenheimer,' written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
The first movie since Nolan, unhappy with Warner Bros’ treatment of ‘Tenet’ and the studio’s same-day streaming plans during the height of the pandemic, moved his moviemaking to Universal, promises to be the typically tactile and epic production from a director known for both as much realism as he can commit to celluloid (he created several of the explosive tests seen on screen entirely practically) and tense dialogue.
And lest you think this will be some ordinary historical biopic? Nolan has bigger plans. "It’s a story of immense scope and scale," the writer/director told Total Film. "And one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever taken on in terms of the scale of it, and in terms of encountering the breadth of Oppenheimer’s story. There were big, logistical challenges, big practical challenges. But I had an extraordinary crew, and they really stepped up. It will be a while before we’re finished. But certainly, as I watch the results come in, and as I’m putting the film together, I’m thrilled with what my team has been able to achieve.”
We’re going to get to see those results in full once ‘Oppenheimer’ blasts into theaters on July 21.
Director Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy on the set of 'Oppenheimer.'
Robert Downey Jr. in 'Oppenheimer,' written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Cillian Murphy stars in 'Oppenheimer,' written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
(L to R) Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt stars in 'Oppenheimer,' written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
