It appears that Christopher Nolan is going to get exactly what he wanted. After shopping his next project around following a fallout with Warner Bros., Oppenheimer now has both a release date on July 21, 2023 and a lead star in Cillian Murphy.

Nolan and Murphy will reunite in a film about the atomic bomb

Christopher Nolan is one of the most well-respected directors in Hollywood. His films have grossed over $5 billion in total, which is amazing when you consider he's only directed 11 films so far. However, for most of his previous projects, Nolan has worked closely with Warner Bros. Since 2002's Insomnia up until 2020's Tenet, Warner Bros. Pictures has distributed Nolan's films.

However, after a public row with Warner Bros. due to the studio's decision to release all of its movies on HBO Max and theaters simultaneously, Nolan decided to shop his next project around to other studios.

At one point, Netflix was even considered to be in the running to secure Nolan's services. Although given Nolan's known distaste for streaming platforms, inking a deal with Netflix was unlikely if not downright impossible.

With that said, Nolan eventually found a willing partner in Universal Pictures. According to reports, part of Nolan's deal with Universal includes a 100-day exclusive theatrical release, a $100 million production budget, and a $100 million marketing budget, as well as complete creative control.

Now that Nolan's gotten what he wanted, it appears that Universal intends to fast-track Oppenheimer. The film, which will be based on J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is known as the father of the atomic bomb, will premiere on July 21, 2023. It will see Nolan reunite with Cillian Murphy, who will take on the role of the titular scientist. The two have worked together several teams before already, including in films such as The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and even Dunkirk.

After working on 2020's sci-fi action thriller, Tenet, which bombed at the box office, Nolan is now back to working on WW2 films. Hopefully, Oppenheimer will perform just as well as Nolan's last WW2 film, 2017's Dunkirk. The award-winning film featured an ensemble cast that would go on to win several accolades and make half a billion at the box office against a $150 million budget.

Oppenheim is expected to start full production in early 2022. We should hear more details about the film as we get closer to its filming schedule.