Fans were recently treated to the extended trailer for Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated twelfth feature film Oppenheimer. The biographical film recounts the story of the namesake physicist (played by Cillian Murphy) and so-called “father of the atomic bomb,” during his role in the World War II Manhattan Project that birthed the world’s first nuclear weapons. The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, which was written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin and published in 2005.
Given its starry list of credits — which also includes castmates Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek and Florence Pugh — Oppenheimer has drawn intrigue ever since the project was first announced in 2021. Since then, reports have emerged around the filming locations used for the movie, which by all accounts have remained largely true to the actual locales frequented by the real Oppenheimer throughout his life and career. Alongside their surrounding regions, principal filming locations included Los Alamos in New Mexico, as well as two university campuses in California and a third in New Jersey.
According to Collider, pre-production on Oppenheimer began in January of last year, with filming commencing the following month and wrapping in May. In anticipation of the film, which recently earned huge applause from audiences at CinemaCon, we’re sifting through the various locations used by Nolan and the team for the filming of Oppenheimer. The movie is set for release on July 21, but in the meantime can get up to date with each reported filming location below.
Los Alamos, New Mexico
According to Hidden Remote, much of Oppenheimer’s filming took place in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The town is recognized as the real-world site where Oppenheimer and his team conceived and created the atomic bomb, as well as where they undertook various experiments. Los Alamos — then referred to by the secret code name “Site Y” — was the central hub of the so-called Manhattan Project that birthed nuclear weaponry, and home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory where such weapons were designed.
Per Hidden Remote, a custom set was built in the Los Alamos region, which is known for its isolation and inaccessibility. Oppenheimer’s family home during his time in Los Alamos was also reportedly used as a location for filming, as well as the so-called Oppenheimer House in Los Alamos’ historical museum. Per to boots on the ground, filming in Los Alamos also stretched to the nearby regions of Santa Fe and Abiquiu, New Mexico, as well as Santa Clarita and Sierra Madre, according to LatLong.
According to IMDb, the custom set used for Los Alamos filming came courtesy of Ruth De Jong, who has elsewhere worked on films like Jordan Peele’s Nope, as well as television series Yellowstone and Twin Peaks. While it is not known whether it’s the custom set in question, Radar Online shared on set images of Oppenheimer which document the erection of a 1940s-looking streetscape, with tumbleweeds, wooden shop fronts and more. The Los Alamos region was also reportedly home to Nolan’s recreation of the Trinity test, the first nuclear weapon detonation in New Mexico, which avoided the use of CGI. The region’s barren sandscapes are seen throughout Oppenheimer’s new trailer.
University of California, Berkeley
Another principal filming location for Oppenheimer was the campus of University of California, Berkeley. The real-life Oppenheimer was a professor at UC Berkeley from 1929 to 1943, and the site was reportedly transformed to visually recall this period for Oppenheimer’s filming. According to Hidden Remote, scenes for the film were shot in the actual UC Berkeley buildings where Oppenheimer taught, with Sceen It also reporting that Edwards Stadium — located on Fulton Street on the southwest corner of the Berkeley campus — was likewise used for shooting. Shots of a stadium are seen in the new trailer.
Per SFGate, Oppenheimer’s real-world Berkeley office was located on the third floor of LeConte Hall, with the road leading to that building — called Campanile Way — used to shoot scenes for the Nolan film. Murphy was elsewhere seen shooting outside Wheeler Hall and the main library, which was redesigned with new lampposts. Footage from the Berkeley shoot show costumed characters entering the campus’ physics building.
University of California, Los Angeles
UC Berkeley wasn’t the only university to catch Nolan’s eye when filming Oppenheimer. According to Hidden Remote, the Los Angeles campus — located some 367 miles from its Berkeley counterpart — was likewise used as an Oppenheimer filming location. Notably, Oppenheimer himself tenured at the LA campus, and gave several lectures in the building. While specific filming locations within the campus remain scarce, both Murphy and Pugh were reportedly spotted on the university grounds in February.
Pugh’s shooting location makes sense, since the actress is set to portray UCLA physics professor and romantic interest of Oppenheimer’s, Jean Tatlock. While in Los Angeles, filming reportedly stretched to nearby regions of the greater Los Angeles area, including the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
Both Murphy and Damon were spotted shooting scenes exciting the Downtown hotel, with the latter actor set to portray Lieutenant General Leslie Richard, the engineer who oversaw the development of the Manhattan Project. Blunt, who was cast as Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty, was likewise spotted filming around Los Angeles.
Princeton University Campus, New Jersey
Adding a third university to its itinerary, Oppenheimer also reportedly took over the campus of Princeton, New Jersey, the institution that the real-world physicist served as the director of from 1947 to 1966. Murphy, Damon and Downey Jr. were all seen filming in various areas throughout the campus, including one scene under the archway at East Pyne Library. Boots on the ground also reported that various cast members were spotted filming around the streets of New Jersey, with one suggesting that some scenes had been shot in New York.
The primary filming locations for Oppenheimer are impressive merely for their accuracy, but given Nolan’s well-documented flair for cinematography and set design, each shoot will no-doubt appear all the more dazzling when the director’s latest effort hits the big screen this July. To learn more about the real figure who inspired Oppenheimer, we’ve got you covered.