Avengers: Endgame star Robert Downey Jr. and Oscar winner Matt Damon are the latest actors to join the cast of director Christopher Nolan's next film, Oppenheimer. The two A-list actors are in talks to join the ensemble, which currently includes Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt.
The upcoming Nolan film centers on J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who headed up the Manhattan Project, the research and development program that led to the creation of the atomic bomb. Nolan is writing and directing the Universal film, which will be adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.
While it has been confirmed that Murphy will star as the infamous scientist, Deadline reports there are currently no details as to who Downey Jr. and Damon will be playing in the film. This will be Murphy's sixth collaboration with the director, and his first time playing the lead in a Nolan movie. Murphy was previously featured as DC comics villain Scarecrow in all three of Nolan's Batman films, as well as supporting roles in Inception and Dunkirk. This will be Damon's second collaboration with Nolan, as the actor previously starred as rogue astronaut Hugh Mann (get it?) in Interstellar. This will be the first time Downey Jr. and Nolan have worked together.
Universal Pictures managed to secure the rights for the highly contested film. Many of Nolan's previous films, including last year's Tenet, were distributed by Warner Bros. Nolan famously blasted the studio after it made the unilateral decision to release all of its 2021 films simultaneously on HBO Max, which Nolan referred to as "the worst streaming service." After a heated bidding war involving several major Hollywood Studios, Universal managed to secure the rights to Nolan's 12th feature film.
Nolan has long been a proponent of the theatrical experience and is known for his stunning IMAX visuals and ensemble casts. Oppenheimer will reportedly be shot in 65mm IMAX, the large-format film that Nolan has used on all of his films since The Dark Knight. Nolan is also known for his use of practical effects in films such as Interstellar and Inception, so perhaps Nolan can garner further controversy by convincing Universal to let him set off an actual atomic bomb for the new film. Fans of Nolan's work will have to wait a while to find out, as production on the new film doesn't start until next year.
Oppenheimer is currently scheduled for release on July 21st, 2023.
Source: Deadline