Christopher Nolan’s next movie to be centred on Oppenheimer and the nuclear bomb

The director hailed for his cerebral blockbusters has his eyes on a very intriguing subject matter for his next movie. Expect literal explosions.

The British director of Inception and The Dark Knight – Christopher Nolan – is readying his next movie.

Nolan fans will be pleased to know the filmmaker is said to be returning to World War II for inspiration, having crafted the viscerally thrilling epic Dunkirk in 2017.

This time, according to Deadline, Nolan is telling the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who helped create the nuclear bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. So, we could be in for some literal screen explosions.

Oppenheimer was the head of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the war. As head of the American Atomic Energy Commission after the war, Oppenheimer argued for nuclear deterrents and control of international nuclear developments.

The budget is slated to be over $US100 million ($A135 million), according to Variety.

Deadline reported that frequent Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy is expected to have a role in the upcoming film. Murphy had previously worked with Nolan in Inception, Dunkirk and the Batman trilogy where he played Dr Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. The Peaky Blinders star was most recently in A Quiet Place Part II.

Cillian Murphy (right) in Dunkirk. Murphy is expected to be in Nolan’s next film. Picture: Warner Bros.

Several studios are said to be in talks with Nolan and his team on the Oppenheimer film, which is a departure for the LA-based filmmaker who has a close relationship with Warner Bros. Warner Bros has been involved in every Nolan feature since Insomnia in 2002.

Warner Bros could still come out the winners in any bidding war but the move signals the Nolan and Warner relationship isn’t as strong as it used to be.

Nolan was one of the most high-profile critics of Warner Bros’ decision to change the distribution model for its 2021 movies which will see every film released both in cinemas and on its American streaming platform HBO Max on the same day.

Christopher Nolan and his wife, producer Emma Thomas. Picture: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

Nolan is a well-known supporter of the theatrical experience and was particularly scathing about Warner’s unilateral decision which was made without consulting any of its creative and financing partners.

He said in an ET Online interview at the time, “In 2021, they’ve got some of the 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.”

Nolan’s most recent project was Tenet, which was the first big budget movie to bite the bullet and chance a cinema release in August 2020, five months into the Covid pandemic.

Tenet grossed $US363 million at the box office worldwide but it underperformed against what expectations would’ve been in a non-Covid environment.

Tenet was praised for its ambitions, visual spectacle and as a blockbuster experience but was criticised for its convoluted storyline.

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Originally published as Christopher Nolan’s next movie to be centred on Oppenheimer and the nuclear bomb