Universal CONFIRMS 'Oppenheimer' is NOT delayed, battle with 'Barbie' still on

There were a lot of rumors that Oppenheimer might be delayed by Universal, but all the rumors have now been busted
Cillian Murphy in a still from 'Oppenheimer' (Universal Pictures)
Cillian Murphy in a still from 'Oppenheimer' (Universal Pictures)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie ‘Oppenheimer’ is one of the highly-anticipated movies of 2023 and fans cannot wait for the movie to arrive in theatres. There is a lot of excitement around the movie and a lot of people believe that it might give Nolan his first Oscar. However, things got pretty weird on Friday, April 14, when suddenly a wild rumor started floating around social media that Nolan’s aforementioned film won’t be making its way to the theatres in July and will have a new release date. Fortunately, it was just a rumor and the movie hasn’t been delayed.

But how did the rumor begin? It all started with Thierry Fremaux’s interview with Variety in which he talked about this year’s Cannes Film Festival. In the interview, Fremaux, the longtime director of the prestigious director, was asked if ‘Oppenheimer’ would be added to the list of movies that are premiering at this year’s event. Although he said no to the aforementioned question, it was the later part of his answer that made everyone feel that the upcoming movie might be getting delayed.

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Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux attends the 76th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Presentation At UGC Normandie on April 13, 2023 in Paris, France.
Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux attends the 76th Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Presentation At UGC Normandie on April 13, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images)

How did the rumor begin?

When asked if ‘Oppenheimer’ will be a part of Cannes this year, Fremaux said, “Unfortunately no, I would have loved [that] but it’s being released at the end of the year as part of their awards strategy. My two regrets this year are “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” but it won’t be ready either by May.”

His remarks spread like a wildfire on social media and everyone started speculating that ‘Oppenheimer’ will be moving from July 21, 2023, the release date that it shared with Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ movie.

Universal didn’t take much time to end these rumors and announced that ‘Oppenheimer’s July date is still on and Variety has also updated its story with a note that says, “Thierry Fremaux later clarified that “Oppenheimer” is still set for a July release.”

Barbie Film Still 1
Barbie Film Still 1 (Warner Bros)

‘Barbie’ has generated a lot of buzz in recent months and the newest trailer took people’s anticipation to a whole new level. A lot of people believed that Universal didn’t want to compete with ‘Barbie’ and that’s why it might be thinking of delaying the movie, but they are just plain rumors and it has been confirmed that both movies will be released in theatres on the same day.

What is 'Oppenheimer' about?

'Oppenheimer' tells the story of a physicist named J Robert Oppenheimer who worked with a team and led to the development of the atomic bomb. 'Oppenheimer' sees Cillian Murphy playing the titular character J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt as Katherine Oppenheimer. On the other hand, actors such as Robert Downey Jr. (Lewis Strauss), Matt Damon (Leslie Groves), Florence Pugh (Jean Tatlock), Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Dane DeHaan, Kenneth Branagh, David Dastmalchain, Casey Affleck and more will be seen in pivotal roles.

Cillian Murphy in a still from 'Oppenheimer' (Universal Pictures)
Cillian Murphy in a still from 'Oppenheimer' (Universal Pictures)

The movie is scheduled to hit theatres on July 21, 2023.

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