As J. Robert Oppenheimer forever changed the world when he conceived of the atomic bomb, based on the spine-tingling trailer dropped today, the landscape of modern cinema will soon be irrevocably altered by Christopher Nolan’s ambitious biopic Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy.
Back in July, we received a minute-long teaser cut of the forthcoming epic 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 – complete with Nolan’s signature fixation on countdown clocks – to get our freak juices flowing. The footage previewed today, however, is far more substantial. And far more exciting.
“We imagine a future and our imaginings are horrifiers. They would fear it until they understand it, and they won’t understand it until they’ve used it,” Cillian Murphy’s titular character can be heard saying in the Oppenheimer trailer; intercut with shots of lab coats assembling what is ostensibly the first atom bomb.
RELATED: Surprise, Surprise… The Nuclear Explosions In ‘Oppenheimer’ Were Recreated Without CGI
“Theory will take you only so far… I don’t know if we can be trusted with such a weapon. But I have no choice.”
Nolan, the king of practical filmmaking, recently confirmed he recreated the Trinity nuclear explosions for his World War II drama without the help of CGI (and obviously without the actual nuclear element). Because what else did we expect from a man who established his professional reputation with functioning Batmobiles, rotating dreamscape-like corridors, and crashing a real-life Boeing 747?
“I think recreating the Trinity test [the first nuclear weapon detonation] without the use of computer graphics, was a huge challenge to take on,” Christopher Nolan explained during his recent interview with Total Film (via Gamesradar).
“Andrew Jackson – my visual effects supervisor, I got him on board early on – was looking at how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself.
“To recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather, a lot of which was needed for the film, in terms of the very harsh conditions out there – there were huge practical challenges.”
RELATED: Cillian Murphy Is “One Of The Best Actors Of All Time,” Says Christopher Nolan
The powerhouse director added, referring to both the recreated Trinity nuclear explosion featured in Oppenheimer and beyond: “It’s a story of immense scope and scale. And one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever taken on in terms of the scale of it, and in terms of encountering the breadth of Oppenheimer’s story.”
“There were big, logistical challenges, big practical challenges. But I had an extraordinary crew, and they really stepped up. It will be a while before we’re finished. But certainly, as I watch the results come in, and as I’m putting the film together, I’m thrilled with what my team has been able to achieve.”
“I’m interested in the man and what [inventing the atomic bomb] does to the individual,” Cillian Murphy, who has apparently been doing “an awful lot of reading” in preparation, told The Guardian prior to all this.
“The mechanics of it, that’s not really for me – I don’t have the intellectual capability to understand them. But these contradictory characters are fascinating.”
“Tommy Shelby’s a complete contradiction, too. People identify with that because we all walk around with these contradictory ideas coexisting in our heads.”
RELATED: The New ‘Oppenheimer’ Trailer Showcases Its Star-Studded Cast (And Sad Albert Einstein)
Murphy is joined by an all-star lineup featuring Emily Blunt as his onscreen wife Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr as businessman/naval officer Lewis Strauss, Matt Damon as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, Florence Pugh as psychiatrist/physician Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie as physicist Edward Teller, and Josh Hartnett as nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.
Rami Malek, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich, Gary Oldman, Casey Affleck, Jason Clarke, plus David Krumholtz are also set to make an appearance. Like we said, this cast is certifiably stacked (and solely rivalled by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, which also now has a trailer).
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer starring Cillian Murphy is scheduled for release on July 21st of 2023 – the annual slot typically saved for a Nolan flick, roughly two weeks before the anniversary of Hiroshima.
Check out the latest Oppenheimer trailer above.
RELATED: At Three Hours, ‘Oppenheimer’ Will Be Christopher Nolan’s Longest-Ever Film
