Deadline is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon are currently in talks to join the cast of director Christopher Nolan’s upcoming biopic Oppenheimer alongside the already announced Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt.
The film, which will be written by Nolan and based on the autobiography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, will be a biopic on Oppenheimer (Murphy) and the development of the atomic bomb in World War II. Blunt will portray Oppenheimer’s wife Katherine “Kitty” Vissering Oppenheimer. Damon and Downey Jr.’s roles are currently being kept under wraps.
Nolan is known for using an ensemble cast featuring talent he has worked with on other projects and Oppenheimer won’t be an exception as not only is Murphy confirmed to star in the biopic but Damon previously worked with the director on his 2014 sci-fi epic Interstellar. However, as for Downey Jr., this will be the first time the actor and director have worked together on a project.
Oppenheimer will mark Nolan’s first movie for Universal, after parting ways from his usual directorial home at Warner Bros. earlier this year. The film will also feature backstage Nolan regulars including producers Emma Thomas and Charles Roven, director of photography Hoyte Van Hotema, editor Jennifer Lame, and composer Ludwig Göransson.
Oppenheimer is currently set for release on July 21st, 2023.
