Universal Pictures has unveiled the first full-length trailer for “Oppenheimer,” the highly anticipated new film from Christopher Nolan that finds the “Inception” and “Dark Knight” filmmaker blending his penchant for large-scale thrillers with one of the most significant events in world history (much like his 2017 WWII thriller “Dunkirk”).
Based on the book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, “Oppenheimer” is told through the eyes of J. Robert Oppenheimer (as played by Cillian Murphy) as he contributes to the creation of the atomic bomb. The story vacillates between the operation to assemble scientists to create the bomb before the Nazis and his interactions with congress after the successful test.
Described as an “epic thriller,” the film charts Oppenheimer’s life and Nolan says it’s “one of the most challenging projects” he’s ever taken on, previously explaining how the film aims to encompass the man’s life story.
“We’re trying to tell the story of somebody’s life, and their journey through personal history and larger-scale history. And so the subjectivity of the story is everything to me. We want to view these events through Oppenheimer’s eyes. And that was the challenge for Cillian that I set him, to take us on this journey; that was the challenge for Hoyte van Hoytema, my designer, my whole team: how do we view this extraordinary story through the eyes of the person who was at the heart of it? All of our decisions on how to make this film were based on that real premise.”
Shot with Imax cameras, production took place in New Mexico, California and New Jersey and the ensemble cast also includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Jack Quaid, David Krumholtz, Josh Hartnett, Michael Angarano, Dane DeHaan, Alden Ehrenreich, Matthew Modine, Jason Clarke, Josh Peck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.
Behind the camera, Nolan reunited with “Tenet” composer Ludwig Goransson on the film.
“Oppenheimer” opens in theaters worldwide on July 21, 2023.
