The Trailer for Oppenheimer Is Here

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Christopher Nolan's last movie Tenet, a mind-bending time travel thriller, took on a larger-than-life meaning thanks to its release in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic last summer. Because of Nolan's outspoken advocacy for movie theaters, he refused to permit a home release for Tenet, which led hyperbolic headlines to declare the movie first as a savior, and later a destroyer, of movie theaters. The legendary writer-director's next movie should be able to proceed with less baggage—and the details have now been released.

Here's everything we know about Oppenheimer.

It tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Nolan's twelfth movie Oppenheimer focuses on theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who played a key role in the research process and development of the atom bomb during the 1940s.

Under the code name The Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer led the U.S. effort to develop a functioning nuclear bomb, which was prompted by fears that Adolf Hitler was preparing to make use of nuclear technology developed by German scientists.

The film is based on American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a biography of Oppenheimer that won the Pulitzer Prize.

"Like it or not, J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most important person who ever lived," Nolan said at CinemaCon in April 2023. "He made the world that we live in for better or for worse. His story has to be seen to be believed."

The first trailer is here.

The first poster for the film was unveiled via Twitter on July 21, 2022, which marks exactly one year until the movie's scheduled release date:

The same day, Universal Pictures revealed that the first teaser trailer for Oppenheimer would debut exclusively in theaters, attached to screenings of Jordan Peele's new horror movie Nope. Given Nolan's track record of advocating for the cinema experience, it makes sense that he gave folks an incentive to go to the theater.

After its week-long exclusive run in theaters, the teaser trailer made its online debut on July 28— and it looks truly epic. A countdown clock appears on screen early on, counting down towards "the day the world changes forever," while brief glimpses of footage from the movie play over snippets of dialogue from Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr's characters.

In December, the first full-length trailer dropped. "We imagine a future, and our imaginings horrify us," Murphy’s Oppenheimer says in a voiceover. "They won’t fear it until they understand it. And they won’t understand it until they’ve used it." In April 2023, with just a few months ago until the premiere, another trailer was released (watch above).

Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt star in the film.

Cillian Murphy, who's played supporting roles in a number of Nolan projects dating all the way back to 2005's Batman Begins, will star as Oppenheimer. Emily Blunt has been announced as the film's female lead. The extraordinarily star-studded cast will also include Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Dane DeHaan, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, David Dastmalchian, Jason Clarke, James D’Arcy... and we could go on, but truly, just know that this cast is stacked.

Nolan will produce the film alongside his wife and longtime co-producer Emma Thomas. More notably, this will be the first film Nolan has made without Warner Bros. in almost two decades, marking the end of the director and studio's longtime partnership. Instead, Universal Pictures will finance and distribute the film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie will be a "smaller-scale feature" for Nolan. Universal, Sony, and Apple were all vying for the rights to the film, which came with some very specific stipulations from Nolan, including full creative control, a minimum 100-day theatrical window, and a blackout period where the studio agreed not to release another movie for three weeks before or after the feature. Given Nolan's history of both critical and box office success, agreeing to the terms was reportedly a no-brainer for Universal.

The movie will premiere in summer 2023.

Oppenheimer will hit theaters on July 21, 2023.

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