Oppenheimer: Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon join cast of Christopher Nolan directorial

Christopher Nolan’s next venture seems to be raking up the best when it comes to Hollywood star power. It was announced recently that Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon are in talks to star in Nolan’s upcoming film, Oppenheimer.

The news was first reported by Deadline. The duo will be seen sharing the screen with Cillian Murphy, who was earlier confirmed to have landed the role of the titular character. It was also reported that Emily Blunt was in talks to join the cast as well, possibly in the role of the protagonist’s wife, Katherine Vissering Oppenheimer.

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Oppenheimer will mark Downey Jr.’s first time collaborating with the Academy Award nominated filmmaker. Damon had previously been a part of Nolan’s science fiction epic, Interstellar, albeit in a small role.

Oppenheimer will be based on the life of renowned American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, most well known for his work which led to the development of the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer was a key figure in the Manhattan Project, a research undertaking for developing nuclear weapons during the second world war.

The film also takes inspiration from the 2005 book Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a biography about the physicist.

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The upcoming film, whose plot details are being kept under close wraps, will be Nolan’s first project for Universal Pictures after his public disagreement with frequent collaborator Warner Bros. The filmmaker and the studio had had a dispute over whether the release of Nolan’s 2020 film, Tenet, should be done theatrically or through a streaming service.

Oppenheimer is slated for a theatrical release in the United States on July 21, 2023.