The first teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been revealed, and shows the first footage of Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the so-called “father of the atomic bomb”.
The trailer, which is currently running on a continual loop on Universal Pictures’ YouTube channel, shows very little, and is mostly a mood piece-style teaser. Snippets of dialogue can be heard playing over black-and-white footage, which shows little more than Oppenheimer putting on his hat and then walking, surrounded by photographers.
#Oppenheimer – Only in Theaters 7 21 23 https://t.co/2FIoTBq3ok
— Oppenheimer (@OppenheimerFilm) July 28, 2022
Interspersed between these sequences are images depicting fission (presumably nuclear fission that occurs in the sun, based on a line dialogue spoken that claims Oppenheimer has harnessed “the force from which the sun draws its power”.) Those images are similar in colour to the fiery poster first revealed last week.
Among the other words spoken are “The world is changing, reforming, this is your moment,” and “You gave them the power to destroy themselves, you may be the most important man whoever lived.” It’s all incredibly ominous, made further uncomfortable by the escalating musical score which is, in classic Nolan fashion, unorthodox to say the least.
On screen is also a countdown, starting at 11 months, 17 days, 22 hours, and 42 minutes, which points to next year’s 78th anniversary of the first-ever launch of a nuclear weapon by the United States, on July 16, 1945. That’s just days before Oppenheimer opens in cinemas on July 21, 2023.
A similar cut of this trailer, with a longer timer, played ahead of screenings of Nope last week. The film will star Cillian Murphy as the titular scientist, as well as Robert Downey Jr., Josh Peck, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, and David Dastmalchian.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.