Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon joins Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer". Image Source: India Today
The film "Oppenheimer," directed by Oscar nominee Christopher Nolan and produced by Universal Pictures and Syncopy, is based on physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who was a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Oppenheimer was the wartime director of the Los Alamos Laboratory and is credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his work on the Manhattan Project, which created the first nuclear weapons during World War II.
Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy was announced as the lead character in the movie a few weeks ago. He is going to portray the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in the movie and with this, it is going to be the fourth collaboration between the actor and the director. The film is slated to release on 21st July 2023, a slot typically saved for Christopher Nolan’s films in the past.
Cillian Murphy is going to play to J. Robert Oppenheimer. Image Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The new reports suggested that two new stars have joined Christopher Nolan’s anticipated project. Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. are the two stars who are in talks to join the movie. According to Deadline, Emily Blunt is also in talks with the makers and would be playing J. Robert Oppenheimer’s wife, Katherine ‘Kitty’ Oppenheimer in the movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Downey Jr. is going to play Lewis Strauss, the infamous chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission who initiated hearings that questioned Oppenheimer’s loyalty to the United States and famously had the scientist’s security clearance revoked.
Matt Damon is going to be Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, the director of the Manhattan Project, the U.S. research initiative that developed the first atomic bomb. Matt Damon and Christopher Nolan collaborated on “Interstellar” and Matt Damon said to SiriusXM that he would do any movie Christopher Nolan directs. In addition to directing, Nolan will adapt the screenplay from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Production will begin in early 2022.
Matt Damon in Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar". Image Source" IMBD
J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who oversaw the Manhattan Project that led to the discovery of the atomic bomb, is the subject of a film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Nolan is known for assembling ensembles that include actors he's previously worked with as well as newcomers. Both are addressed in this film. Matt Damon previously collaborated with Nolan on the science fiction film Interstellar. This will be Robert Downey Jr.'s first time collaborating on a project with the actor.
"Oppenheimer," an "epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding dilemma of the enigmatic man who must risk ruining the world in order to rescue it," is being distributed by Universal Pictures. A $100 million budget has been set aside for the film's production. In a competitive bidding war with Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros., Universal obtained the rights to the project.
Recently Marvel Studios released their book “The Story of Marvel Studio” in which the audience can see the journey of the actor and actress for the role. Tara Bennett and Paul Terry have written the book.
Robert Downey Jr.'s experience in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is detailed in the book, and the actor has revealed everything. The actor spoke about his co-star, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner, as well as his other cast members. A note from Robert Downey Jr. is included in the book, in which he expresses his hope that these films have sparked a conversation about equality, justice, freedom, accepting variety, and opposing bigotry through the power of cooperation, love, and sacrifice. In the same letter, the veteran actor expresses his belief that the MCU's new members will carry the torch forward and achieve greater success.
Robert Downey Jr. as "Iron Man" in Avengers: Endgame. Image Source: Entertainment Weekly
We might claim that Marvel's decision to cast Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man was a terrific movie that propelled them to where they are now: the best Cinematic Universe in Hollywood. Iron Man was the one who put them up, and they've never looked back. They also demonstrated to the rest of the world that superhero comics could be adapted into live-action films. They are already in the preliminary stages of Phase Four, but we must understand that we will not see Tony Stark again, but a proper farewell was provided to the fans. But he remains in our memories, and we will never forget him.
After bidding goodbye to Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. followed up the biggest blockbuster of his career with Universal’s family-friendly adventure “Dolittle,” which flopped in theaters. Whereas, Matt Damon’s latest film roles were in Tom McCarthy’s crime drama “Stillwater” and Ridley Scott’s period drama “The Last Duel,” which he co-wrote with Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener.
The most significant aspect of "Oppenheimer" is that it is Nolan's first film made outside of Warner Bros. since 2002's "Insomnia." For nearly two decades, Christopher Nolan referred to Warner Bros. as his "home studio," but their relationship deteriorated during the pandemic, with the problematic theatrical release of "Tenet" and the firm's decision to switch its whole 2021 picture schedule to a hybrid distribution strategy. This year, all Warner Bros. films were released in theaters on the same day that HBO Max made them available to stream for 31 days. Nolan publicly chastised Warner Bros. for their choice, allowing another company to pursue a partnership with him.
Christopher Nolan told Entertainment Tonight, “There’s such controversy around it, because they didn’t tell anyone about the shift. In 2021, they’ve got some top filmmakers in the world, they’ve got some of the biggest stars in the world who worked for years in some cases on these projects very close to their hearts that are meant to be big-screen experiences. They’re meant to be out there for the widest possible audiences… And now they’re being used as a loss-leader for the streaming service for the fledgling streaming service without any consultation. So, there’s a lot of controversy.”
