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‘Oppenheimer’ goes nuclear with R-rating and new IMAX posters depicting a world in the grip of atomic annihilation

'I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.'

'Oppenheimer' poster
Image via Universal Pictures

We’re officially less than two months away from Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and now Universal Pictures has confirmed that the upcoming biopic from one of the most acclaimed filmmakers in history and starring almost the entirety of Hollywood will indeed be R-rated.

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This report comes courtesy of Variety and implies that you can expect the upcoming film to get into the nitty-gritty of the most devastating weapon mankind ever invented. The tension rising from that and ultimately leading to the deaths of more than 200,000 people is sure to contain some disturbing imagery, though it’s unclear if Oppenheimer will actually depict the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Oppenheimer follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb. Long-time Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy is portraying the character, and as you can see in these new IMAX posters, the biopic is about more than just a scientist. In his famous “I am become death” monologue, Oppenheimer says that “we knew the world would not be the same,” and these new posters highlight that to an extreme.

As we’ve come to expect from Nolan, the filmmaker is urging everyone to watch Oppenheimer in IMAX, as the 70mm gauge is sure to enhance the viewing experience from a visual standpoint. “The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled,” He said. “The headline, for me, is by shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you’re really letting the screen disappear.”

In truth, a movie centering around a real historical figure sitting at the heart of World War II isn’t something we’d necessarily associate with Nolan’s cinema, especially since it sorely misses that blockbuster-y action element that defines much of the director’s portfolio. But then, who could even begin to contemplate what goes on inside that mind?

At any rate, Oppenheimer is opening in theaters on July 21.