The cast of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer just went nuclear, with Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon now in talks to join Cillian Murphy in the blockbuster biopic, according to Deadline. The film will mark Nolan's first movie for Universal, after a shocking move from his directorial home at Warner Bros. earlier this month.
Previously, it was reported that Emily Blunt was also in talks to join the film as Katherine Vissering Oppenheimer, wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist in charge of the Manhattan Project that led to the invention of the atomic bomb - and also the subject of the film's story.
Though Damon has already worked with Nolan in the sci-fi drama Interstellar, this will mark the first time Downey Jr. works with the acclaimed director. Though Damon has been on a roll recently, churning out acclaimed performances in everything from The Last Duel to Stillwater, Downey Jr.'s only big non-Marvel role in the past few years was as the titular character in Dolittle, remember that movie? Still, maybe this is the project that will make Downey Jr. return to form to his Zodiac days.
Oppenheimer is being adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film is being handled by a who's who of Nolan regulars like producers Emma Thomas and Charles Roven, director of photography Hoyte Van Hotema, editor Jennifer Lame, and composer Ludwig Göransson.
The project is notable for being Nolan's first project since leaving Warner Bros. a move that caused a bidding war for the film. Universal ultimately won that bidding war by agreeing to a lengthy theatrical window of 100 days, plus a six-week blackout period surrounding the release of the film, wherein no other Universal film can be released.
Oppenheimer comes to theaters in IMAX, 70mm, 35mm, and all other screens on July 21, 2023.