Tenet director Christopher Nolan has almost become synonymous with epic, mind-bending sci-fi films, but for his next project, the acclaimed filmmaker is set to return to World War II for a drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the scientists credited as being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project.
Cillian Murphy (Dunkirk, Inception) is set to play Oppenheimer with Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, A Quiet Place) on board as his wife, Katherine, and THR is now reporting that two big names have been added to the already impressive cast.
Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers: Endgame, Sherlock Holmes) will play Lewis Strauss, the infamous Atomic Energy Commissioner who initiated hearings that questioned Oppenheimer’s loyalty to the United States, while Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Elysium) will take on the role of Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project.
We also have our first logline for the film, with Universal describing it as an “epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.”
Nolan penned the script with creative partner and wife, Emma Thomas, who will also produce alongside with Charles Roven. The project is based on American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
Oppenheimer is set for release on July 21, 2023.