The first Oppenheimer teaser trailer has been released to the public, and it features an ominious countdown to the release of Christopher Nolan's biopic and the first footage of Cillian Murphy as the man behind the atomic bomb.
Universal's Oppenheimer will be written and directed by Nolan, based on the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin titled American Prometheus. For those who may be unaware, Oppenheimer is often referred to as the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, which produced the world's first nuclear weapons.
The first Oppenheimer teaser was shown ahead of Nope, Jordan Peele's latest film, and was only just released online to the public. At this time, the Oppenheimer teaser can only be viewed as a live loop on Univeral's Twitter or YouTube pages, with no option to rewind or pause the video and pick up where it left off. A countdown is shown over the footage displaying the exact amount of time until Oppenheimer is released in theatres. The Oppenheimer teaser pairs footage of Murphy as the titular scientist with explosive images of fireballs as voiceovers from other characters from the film emphasize the impact Oppenheimer's creation will have on the world.
One unseen character asks how one man can be so blind, which is followed by the voice of President Harry Truman declaring that the force "from which the sun draws its power has been loosed." The Oppenheimer teaser concludes with a voiceover from a character ominously saying that Oppenheimer is now the most important man who ever lived because he gave humanity the power the destroy itself. The final line of the teaser refers to Oppenheimer as the man who moved Earth.
The Oppenheimer teaser certainly sets a dire tone, appropriate considering the film deals with the creation of weapons that continue to loom over the entire planet. However, audiences are unsure of what to expect from Nolan's biopic considering the genre is generally straightforward while the filmmaker's past work has been anything but. Murphy has told audiences to expect something different from Oppenheimer, but they will have to wait just over a year to see what Nolan has planned for the story of the man who changed the world forever.
Oppenheimer will be released in theaters on July 21, 2023.
Source: Universal Pictures