One week ahead of the release of Oppenheimer, a new five-minute preview has just been revealed, giving us our most in-depth look yet into Christopher Nolan‘s epic new thriller. The new preview shows a glimpse at the epic and devastating story of one man and his mission to create a weapon that would catapult the 20th century into potentially apocalyptic conflict. Oppenheimer is set to release to theaters on July 21, 2023.
The new film is both written and directed by Nolan, the man behind such films as Inception and Interstellar. Oppenheimer is an IMAX®-shot film that will put audiences as close as possible to the brilliant mind and destructive work of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who risked destroying the world to save it from the grips of the Axis powers during World War II. Cillian Murphy stars as Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt stars as his wife, a biologist and botanist named Katherine, or “Kitty” Oppenheimer. Also starring in the film is Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves Jr, the self-assured director of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss, a commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
The American Prometheus
The new preview, which spans a little over five minutes in length, begins with a black and white shot of Robert Downey Jr as Strauss, the shot is quiet except for an eerie hum (teasing Ludwig Göransson‘s score) as he moves from his car and through hallways, and into a room filled with several other men. He sits down with the men, including Oppenheimer himself. He informs them that the Russians have a bomb. This is the start of the Cold War, a conflict between the United States and Russia following the Second World War that hinged on the two global powers’ possession and possible use of nuclear weapons. But, as Strauss states, this shouldn’t be the case. The Manhattan Project, which established the United States as the first nation to create and use a nuclear weapon, was supposed to be secret. Despite this, information leaked, and the nuclear secret is out, with potentially disastrous consequences.
“What were you guys doing in Los Alamos?” Strauss asks. And this seems to be the central question of the film, as the preview cuts to scenes from the work done on the Manhattan Project in the New Mexico desert. The preview then unfolds, showing both the impressive scale of the project, along with the disastrous implications of its success. Oppenheimer’s mission is to save the world from the destruction of the Axis powers, which were also working on an atomic bomb. And yet, by creating a weapon that would put a hard, and cruel stop to the Second World War, Oppenheimer also provided the world with a weapon that could destroy the planet in its entirety.
The new preview invites viewers to ponder the unthinkable and to take on Oppenheimer’s own struggles between scientific advancement and the unthinkable scope of human destruction. The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and explores both Oppenheimer’s life and his most remarkable project, the Manhattan Project. Perhaps one of the greatest scientific minds in America, Oppenheimer’s reputation has been widely hushed or shadowed by infamy. But this summer, we will get to know the man and his explosive work.
The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Nolan. Also starring in the film are Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett, and Kenneth Branagh among others.
Oppenheimer hits theaters on July 21. You can watch the new preview below.
via Collider