With production getting underway on Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer—and as a bid to get ahead of the paparazzi sure to swarm the set—Universal Pictures have unveiled the first look. In what is perhaps a hint at some different direction for Nolan, there are no sweeping vistas or intense action, but rather a simple black-and-white shot of Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer.
With cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema returning to shoot on IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film, Oppenheimer will also include some sections in black-and-white, as the first look indicates. The film is based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which explores the development of the atom bomb during WWII. “The epic thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it,” notes the official logline.
The ever-expanding cast also includes Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich, David Krumholtz, Kenneth Branagh, and Michael Angarano. The crew also includes editor Jennifer Lame and composer Ludwig Göransson.
Universal Pictures will release Oppenheimer on July 21, 2023. For more, listen to Nolan’s recent conversation with Denis Villeneuve here.