It’s time to drop another knowledge bomb on casting developments for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Deadline is reporting that Emily Blunt (Jungle Cruise, The Devil Wears Prada) is in talks to join what will surely be an all-star ensemble. If Blunt seals the deal, she’ll join Cillian Murphy, who stars as Oppenheimer. Sources indicate that Blunt will play the wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who ran the Manhattan Project that led to the invention of the atomic bomb.
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will be the filmmaker’s first directorial effort since 2020’s Tenet. The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. In addition to directing the feature, Nolan will also write the script and produce alongside Emma Thomas and Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven.
Oppenheimer will take place during World War II and revolve around J. Robert Oppenheimer’s development of the atom bomb. The thriller will thrust audiences into “the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.” Oppenheimer is set to be shot on a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film, with production expected to kick off in early 2022. Universal Pictures also announced that Oppenheimer will debut on July 21, 2023.
Blunt is hotter than hot at the box office right now. She recently starred alongside Dwayne Johnson in Disney’s Jungle Cruise, which sailed to $114 million at the domestic box office. She’s currently filming the Hugo Black-directed TV series The English, in which she stars as Cornelia Locke. The series follows a woman as she seeks revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. The English also stars Nicholas Aaron, Miguel Alvarez, Tom Hughes, Toby Jones, Valerie Pachner, and Ciarán Hinds, among others.
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