Christopher Nolan is ready to show the world the first full trailer for his new epic “Oppenheimer,” and he’s doing so in the most dramatic way possible: with a An exclusive IMAX slot.
The “Oppenheimer” trailer will make its world premiere on IMAX screens, playing the “Avatar” sequel, which opens Thursday. It won’t be available online, and it’s not the same trailer that will be shown on non-IMAX screens.
Nolan’s film about the enigmatic Harvard-educated theoretical physicist who helped develop the first atomic bomb is based on Kay Byrd and Martin J. Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus S: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. And starring Cillian Murphy. This thriller explores the paradox of the notorious self-proclaimed “Destroyer of Worlds.”
“The immersive quality of IMAX is critical to bringing audiences into the mind and experience of the man who changed our world forever,” Nolan said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The star-studded cast includes Emily Blunt as Catherine “Katie” Oppenheimer, his wife, a biologist and botanist, and Matt Damon as Manhattan Project director Les Ligue Jr. General Roves, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Agency’s Energy Council. Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh are also in the large ensemble.
Nolan and cinematographer Hoyt van Hoytema (who worked on Dunkirk, Tenet, and Interstellar) shot the film using a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film, which It was also the first use of analog photography in some parts of IMAX black and white.
In an interview with Total Film magazine this week, Nolan said they recreated the Trinity test without the use of CGI, the first time a nuclear weapon has been successfully detonated. He also said it was one of the most challenging projects he has ever done.
Universal plans to release “Oppenheimer” exclusively in theaters on July 21.