The A-list Oppenheimer cast already includes big names such as Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, and Cillian Murphy, who will star as theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as the film follows his involvement with the creation of the atom bomb. Universal’s Oppenheimer is based on the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
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Deadline announced Clarke’s involvement with the upcoming Oppenheimer film, and joining a big Nolan epic is one of the few exciting projects he has slated to release in the coming months. Other than starring in recent films like Pet Sematary and The Devil All the Time, the actor can be seen next in HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, where he will play Los Angeles Lakers and Basketball legend Jerry West. The series is set to premiere this Sunday.
While details surrounding Clarke’s Oppenheimer role are still unknown, Damon is set to play Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project, while Downey Jr. will fill the role of Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss. Blunt will play Oppenheimer’s wife, Katherine Oppenheimer Vissering, and Pugh plays Communist Party member Jean Tatlock. Other the character announcements, the plot will reportedly follow a younger Oppenheimer during his days at Harvard and Cambridge, before moving to Germany and California to become the leader in the field of theoretical physics and contributing his work to creating the atom bomb.
Oppenheimer is shaping up to be one of Nolan’s more straight forward and slower burn films, as it appears it will serve more as a drama rather than a large-scale action film like The Dark Knight or Inception. But with that, recent Oppenheimer set photos reveal that the visionary director will continue to build real life sets and favor old school filmmaking techniques over green screens.
Oppenheimer will mark Nolan’s first time working with Universal Pictures after the director departed ways with Warner Bros. last year. Starting fresh with a studio that appears willing to grant him total creative freedom, Nolan looks as if he is cooking up something truly speculator for the big screen (as if the cast wasn’t a big enough hint).
Oppenheimer is set to arrive in theaters on July 21, 2023.
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Source: Deadline
