Christopher Nolan’s biographical World War II epicOppenheimerkeeps on getting bigger, as yet another prestigious cast member has been found in Tony Goldwyn. TheKing Richardstar is the latest hot ticket in Nolan’s upcoming film.
Nolan’s film will star Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. TheUniversalfilm is based onAmerican Prometheus,a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.Oppenheimeris Nolan’s first film not released by Warner Bros. in twenty years, as he left the studio following disagreements over the COVID-era releases ofTenetandWonder Woman 1984.
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The Hollywood Reporter broke the news about Goldwyn joining the ensemble cast ofOppenheimer, which includes Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Benny Safdie, Josh Peck, and many more. Goldwyn’s role remains undisclosed at this time, though THR previously stated during a report onAlex Wolff’s castingthat the talent being signed usually doesn’t know what role they’re playing, no matter how small, until their deal is closed. Nevertheless, several actors appear to be eager to sign ontoOppenheimerregardless of how significant their role may be.
Any Nolan disciples shouldn’t be surprised by his interest inOppenheimer. One of his recent releases wasDunkirk,another WWII-era epic, and his most recent film,Tenet, contained many thematic references to the scientist. Nolan is fascinated by technological evolutions, in both the good and evil they cause, and the rise and fall of Dr. Oppenheimer will be a perfect canvas for that.
WhileOppenheimeris still a massive project with a $100 million budget, it’s still a noticeably smaller film thanTenet. This seems to be a career move for Nolan, asTenetremains his only commercial disappointment. That wasn’t necessarily his fault, as its 2020 release all but guaranteed failure. But with its incredibly complicated story,Tenetremains divisive amongst critics and fans, with its current reputation being more of a cult hit than a bona fide success.
AsOppenheimerplaces Nolan back in Oscar-friendly biopic territory, this will be a great opportunity to reestablish himself as one of our finest living directors. And he’s already done it before, as some detractors were worried he was losing it afterThe Dark Knight RisesandInterstellar, only to be proven wrong withDunkirk.If anyone is worried about the post-Tenetstudio shift,Oppenheimerwill almost surely put those fears to rest. Nolan has knocked it out of the parkever sinceMemento, and there’s no sign he’s slipping any time soon.
Oppenheimeris scheduled to be released in theaters on June 12, 2025.
