Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Just Got Its First Trailer Teaser And It’s Chilling

Christopher Nolan is a legendary filmmaker, who is known for mind-blowing twists and gorgeous visuals. Following the release of Tenet, Nolan ended his longstanding relationship with Warner Bros. and started planning his next movie with Universal. That title is Oppenheimer, which features an unbelievable ensemble cast. Oppenheimer just got its first trailer teaser, and it’s chilling.

The anticipation behind Oppenheimer has been steadily growing thanks to Christopher Nolan's reputation and the countless well-known actors who have joined the cast. As you can see from the first trailer above, that all starts with his frequent collaborator Cillian Murphy. He's the only one seen in the first chilling teaser, which is currently being played on a loop on Universal's YouTube page. So if you catch the short clip halfway through, just be patient and wait for it to restart. 

The first teaser for Oppenheimer is super cryptic, but still quite unsettling. We hear narration from some of the movie's characters, heard over black and white footage from the highly anticipated blockbuster. Oppenheimer's desk is shown, with his hat and pipe on display. From there the trailer pivots to footage of fire, teasing the destructive power of the atomic bomb that Cillian Murphy's title character will eventually create. 

While this teaser is purposefully vague and cryptic, the way it is edited together definitely gives one a sense of unease. The colorful, fiery footage is explosive and stands in stark juxtaposition to the black and white shots that it's intercut with. And with the dialogue of unseen characters teasing the debate of creating such a weapon, there's a mixture of spectacle and emotionality that's remarkable to achieve in such a short clip.

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer's first teaser

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

As previously mentioned, Christopher Nolan has assembled a massive and extremely talented ensemble of actors to bring Oppenheimer to life on the big screen. Joining Murphy as the leading characters are Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., and Black Widow's Florence Pugh. But that quartet of talent is only the tip fo the ice berg. Other familiar faces involved in Oppenheimer include Rami Malek, Jack Quaid, Kenneth Branagh, Gary Oldman, and Alex Wolff among many others. Clearly Nolan's upcoming movie has a massive scope, and it should be fascinating to see how all these characters are used in the story.

Christopher Nolan's has a reputation that speaks for itself, and it should be fascinating to see what new colors Oppenheimer brings to his opus of films. It has the potential to stand out among recent releases like Dunkirk and Tenet which were super action heavy-- the latter even containing backwards fights. Then again, seeing the destructive power of the atom bomb  on the big screen might be enough thrills for the ticket price. We'll just have to wait and see as more footage and information trickles out.

Oppenheimer is expected to hit theaters on July 21st, 2023. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.