Christopher Nolan has confirmed that his next film will be a drama about the development of the atomic bomb.
In a deviation from his work with Warner Bros, the director will head to Universal Pictures for the drama which is believed to have a budget of around $100m. Nolan had been in discussions with a number of studios, also including Sony, Paramount and MGM, and ultimately decided against Warners.
The film will focus on US physicist J Robert Oppenheimer who was among those credited as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his involvement in what was known as the Manhattan Project, which produced the first nuclear weapons during the second world war. According to Deadline, frequent Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy is being eyed for a role.
The as-yet-untitled project follows Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Tenet which was met with mixed-to-positive reviews in 2020. It was his ninth film with Warner Bros, including two that were co-distributed by other studios. Nolan’s previous film about the second world war, the acclaimed drama Dunkirk, won three Oscars and made over $520m at the global box office.
Nolan was outspoken about his frustration with the studio’s controversial day-and-date deal with HBO Max that meant that the entirety of their 2021 slate would also premiere on the streaming platform. He referred to it as “the worst streaming service” in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.
“Warner Bros had an incredible machine for getting a film-maker’s work out everywhere, both in theaters and in the home, and they are dismantling it as we speak,” he wrote. “They don’t even understand what they’re losing. Their decision makes no economic sense, and even the most casual Wall Street investor can see the difference between disruption and dysfunction.”
Filming is expected to begin at the start of 2022.