Contrary to rumors that started spreading like wildfire on Friday morning, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has not been delayed and is still set to release in theaters this summer. A source close to the film tells TheWrap that the biographical thriller is slated for release on July 21, 2023, with no plans to shift.
Hubbub surrounding a potential release date delay to the fall began with comments from Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Femaux, who said in an interview that he “would have loved” to have had “Oppenheimer” as part of the lineup but, mistakenly, said the film was “being released at the end of the year.”
“Oppenheimer” is currently slated to be released exclusively in theaters on the same day as Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” movie from Greta Gerwig, resulting in a pretty significant showdown. Many have wondered if either film would blink from the release date, but Universal doesn’t intend to shift Nolan’s feature.
Written and directed by Nolan, “Oppenheimer” is based on the book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin and is told through the eyes of J. Robert Oppenheimer (as played by Cillian Murphy) as he contributes to the creation of the atomic bomb.
Described as an “epic thriller,” the film charts Oppenheimer’s life and Nolan previously said the film is “one of the most challenging projects” he’s ever taken on as it aims to encompass one man’s life story.
“We’re trying to tell the story of somebody’s life, and their journey through personal history and larger-scale history,” Nolan told Total Film. “And so the subjectivity of the story is everything to me. We want to view these events through Oppenheimer’s eyes. And that was the challenge for Cillian that I set him, to take us on this journey; that was the challenge for Hoyte van Hoytema, my designer, my whole team: how do we view this extraordinary story through the eyes of the person who was at the heart of it? All of our decisions on how to make this film were based on that real premise.”
Shot with Imax cameras, production took place in New Mexico, California and New Jersey and the ensemble cast also includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh.
