Thread by @Variety

For the first time in nearly two decades, Christopher Nolan will make a movie for a studio that’s not Warner Bros. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

Nolan’s World War II film about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb will be made for Universal Studios. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

The director spoke to several studios in recent weeks, including Sony and MGM, about the possibility of backing his $100 million drama.

He did have talks with Warner Bros., but the relationship with his former studio home has grown strained. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

The director was upset by Warner’s decision to release its entire 2021 slate concurrently on HBO Max and the studio was unhappy with his public comments expressing his displeasure. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

Nolan had dubbed HBO Max “the worst streaming service,” a blunt assessment unlikely to make it into the company’s marketing materials. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

Nolan’s last film #Tenet was released by Warner Bros. in the middle of the pandemic and was a box office disappointment, but his track record of hits like #Dunkirk & #TheDarkKnight is strong enough to draw interest from several backers, including streamers bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

Nolan was insistent that his new film have an exclusive theatrical release. #Tenet wasn’t impacted by Warner Bros.’ decision to debut its films on HBO Max, and received a traditional rollout because it predated the studio’s 2021 distribution strategy. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

Filming on the Oppenheimer picture is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022. Cillian Murphy has been mentioned as a possible member of the ensemble, but casting has yet to take place. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

Nolan wrote the screenplay for the picture and top executives at the studios were allowed to read his script at the offices of his production company Syncopy Inc. Donna Langley played a critical role in landing the project for Universal. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

The film will presumably focus on Oppenheimer’s work on the Manhattan Project, including his role in the Trinity test in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was successfully detonated. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

That’s the moment where Oppenheimer is said to have remembered words from the Bhagavad Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

Oppenheimer would later go on to argue for international control of nuclear weapons and opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb. bit.ly/3zbnqXZ

.@BrentALang reports on everything we know about Christopher Nolan’s new film bit.ly/3zbnqXZ