Movies

Avatar: The Way Of Water IMAX Audiences Will Get A Sneak Peek At Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer Universal Pictures
By BJ Colangelo/

In case you needed another motivating factor to shell out the extra bucks to see James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water" on the most giant screen possible, Christopher Nolan is providing one heck of an incentive. The director is already breaking new ground by delivering the first IMAX film featuring scenes in black and white, and as such, Nolan is presenting an IMAX-exclusive trailer for "Oppenheimer" before screenings of the highly-anticipated "Avatar" sequel. This trailer won't be the same one we see during standard theatrical screenings or online, but a genuine, exclusive trailer that can only be seen before "Avatar: The Way of the Water" in IMAX. Time to prove how dedicated you are to your fandom, Nolanites.

Despite Nolan's quest to keep details about "Oppenheimer" as close to the chest as possible, there's still plenty to get excited about. You can check out everything we know so far by clicking here. The film will also be Nolan's highly-anticipated follow-up to "Tenet," which was the first Hollywood tent-pole to open in theaters after the pandemic's start. While the film performed well considering the circumstances, it was still considered a box-office failure when factoring in the marketing costs. Now, Nolan seems to be making up for the prior disappointment, by assembling one of the most star-studded casts in recent memory, and a larger-than-life story about the real-life theoretical physicist who helped develop the first atomic bomb.

Oppenheimer is getting immersive

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer Universal Pictures

The massive screen is a necessity to Christopher Nolan, who has been a longtime champion of the theatrical experience above all else. "The immersive quality of IMAX is massively important in transporting the audience into the mind and experience of this person who forever altered our world," Nolan said in a statement to The Associated Press. The acclaimed director and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (who collaborated with Nolan on "Dunkirk," "Tenet" and "Interstellar") shot the film using a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large format film along with the aforementioned black and white sequences.

Much has been said about the impressive visuals of "Avatar: The Way of Water," but Nolan's talent is nothing to shrug at. Regardless of how people feel about the twisty-turny storytelling of some of his movies (I'm looking at you, "Inception"), Nolan knows how to make a phenomenal-looking film. Considering Nolan is the same director who once bought a vintage plane just to film the most accurate possible crash in "Dunkirk," there's no telling how his fully-practical nuclear detonation will look on IMAX. Let's be real — it's going to look pretty damn awesome.

"Oppenheimer" explodes into theaters on July 21, 2023.

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