It has been revealed that Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Oppenheimer will be his first R-rated movie in over 20 years.
The upcoming thriller is based on the 2005 novel American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and depicts the life of real-life physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he works to build the world’s first atomic bomb during the Second World War.
It has already been confirmed that the film — which stars Cillian Murphy in the lead role — will be Christopher Nolan’s longest film to date, coming in at three hours long and surpassing his 2014 film Interstellar. Now, it has been revealed that Oppenheimer will also be the director’s first film to receive an R-rating in 21 years.
The R-rating is a US term, meaning that anyone under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian if they wish to see the film in cinemas. In the UK, the equivalent is roughly a 15 certificate, meaning that anyone under the age of 15 is not allowed to view the film in theatres, even if accompanied by an adult.
The last of Nolan’s films to receive this certification was 2002’s Insomnia, which starred Al Pacino and Robin Williams and followed the plot of a police detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl.
The director’s 2000 movie Memento also received an R-rating in the US. Over the past two decades however, all of his films have been more viewer-friendly, with projects including The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2011) all rated PG-13, which is roughly an equivalent of a UK 12 certificate.
A star-studded cast joins Murphy for Oppenheimer, including Emily Blunt, who plays his wife, Kitty. Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek and Jack Quaid are also set to appear in the film, which will be released in cinemas on July 21.
Last month (May 8), the official trailer for Oppenheimer was released and received a wave of positive responses from viewers.
“I’ve watched this trailer so many times. This movie is going to be epic. Christopher Nolan is a true genius and Cillian Murphy is an incredible actor. Can’t wait to see this on the big screen,” wrote one user on YouTube. Another agreed, adding: “This is honestly one of the best trailers I’ve ever watched. Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, and an awesome cast behind them. Fingers crossed that the movie lives up to this trailer.”
Previously, leading man and Peaky Blinders star Murphy also revealed that he was “desperate” to take on the eponymous character in the film.
“I have always said publicly and privately to Chris, that if I’m available and you want me to be in a movie, I’m there. I don’t really care about the size of the part,” he said. “But deep down, secretly, I was desperate to play a lead for him… It felt like the right time to take on a bigger responsibility. And it just so happened that it was a huge one.”