Nolan to debut ‘Oppenheimer’ IMAX trailer with ‘Avatar 2'

Christopher Nolan is ready to show the world the first full-length trailer for his new epic “Oppenheimer” and he’s doing so in the splashiest way possible: With an IMAX exclusive spot in front of the “Avatar" sequel

Film-Oppenheimer (© Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.)

Christopher Nolan is ready to show the world the first full-length trailer for his new epic “ Oppenheimer ” and he’s doing so in the splashiest way possible: With an exclusive IMAX spot in front of “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

The “Oppenheimer” trailer will debut globally on IMAX screens playing the “Avatar” sequel, which begins its theatrical run Thursday. It will not be made available online and is distinct from the trailer that will show on non-IMAX screens.

Nolan’s film, about the enigmatic, Harvard-educated theoretical physicist who helped develop the first atomic bomb, is based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” and stars Cillian Murphy in the title role. The thriller explores the paradox of the man who infamously called himself the “destroyer of worlds.”

“The immersive quality of IMAX is massively important in transporting the audience into the mind and experience of this person who forever altered our world,” Nolan said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The star-studded cast includes Emily Blunt as Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, his wife, a biologist and botanist, Matt Damon as Manhattan Project director General Leslie Groves Jr. and Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh are also among the large ensemble.

Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (who collaborated on “Dunkirk,” “Tenet” and “Interstellar”) used a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large format film to shoot the film, which also boasts the first ever use of IMAX black and white analog photography for some sections.

In an interview with Total Film magazine this week, Nolan said that they recreated the Trinity test, the first successful detonation of a nuclear weapon, without the use of CGI. He also said it's one of the most challenging projects he’s ever undertaken.

Universal Pictures plans to release “Oppenheimer” exclusively in theaters on July 21.