Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon to Star in Christopher Nolan's New Film

Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon are said to be in talks to star in Christopher Nolan's new film, set to be about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atom bomb.

Robert downey jr matt damon christopher nolan movie
Wait, who will be in the new Christopher Nolan movie? | © Universal Pictures / Marvel Entertainment

Oscar-Nominated Director Christopher Nolan is said to be in talks with Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon for his upcoming film on Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb. Whilst nothing is confirmed, Deadline reported the possible collaboration, but revealed no details regarding whom the respective actors would be playing.

Deadline previously reported the involvement of Emily Blunt in the Universal Pictures-produced new film. Cillian Murphy has also been rumoured to be involved. Nolan previously tackled the World War II era in Dunkirk, which was a film about the rushed evacuation of British, French, and Belgian forces from the French town of Dunkirk in 1940.

Oppenheimer is the new film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and will tell the story of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who played a key role in the Manhattan Project. It is unknown at the time of writing whom will play which historical characters within the film.

The Manhattan Project eventually developed the Atomic Bomb that was dropped by United States forces on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the August of 1945. These nuclear weapons reportedly killed almost a quarter of a million people, and are often attributed to have been crucial to the end of World War II.

The latter claim, however, has been discredited by historians, since the Japanese had conditionally surrendered in the days and weeks before the dropping of the bombs. This is something that would certainly be interesting for Nolan to address in the film, since the toll of the decision to drop the bombs had a significant effect on Oppenheimer's life and mental health.

More specifically, though, Oppenheimer will be based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Who Will Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon Be in Oppenheimer?

It is unknown who Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon will play in Oppenheimer, as they haven't even been confirmed for the film. That being said, The Hollywood Reporter has theorized that Cillian Murphy will play Oppenheimer, and Blunt his wife. Meanwhile, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. will play Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves and Lewis Strauss respectively.

When is the Oppenheimer Release Date?

Oppenheimer will reportedly release on July 21, 2023. This would be two weeks prior to the anniversary of the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb. This seems fitting for Christopher Nolan, whom usually releases his films on July 21 anyway. No matter the release date, we're certainly excited to experience Oppenheimer, Nolan's first film since the somewhat underwhelming Tenet back in 2020.

Evan Williams

Australian gamer, musician, and journalist at EarlyGame. Currently living in Germany so no, I don't ride a Kangaroo to work. I am currently hard at work making our CoD and Rocket League pages the best on the internet. Lofty ambitions,...