Robert Downey Jr. Looks Unrecognizable In First Look At Christopher Nolan’s Nuke Drama ‘Oppenheimer’

robert downey jr as tony stark in avengers endgame

Marvel Studios


If you ignore the existence of 2020’s Dolittle (which, frankly, we all should do) Robert Downey Jr. hasn’t starred in a movie since –yup, you guessed it! — 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. In fact, if you don’t count his appearance as Tony Stark in the MCU, Downey hasn’t appeared in a “regular” movie since Chef and hasn’t starred in a non-CBM film since 2014’s miscalculated The Judge.

And that, ultimately, is what makes Downey Jr’s casting as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer so exciting: not only is RDJ finally back on the big screen but he’s actually doing something *different* again. Just how different, you ask? Greying and receding hair levels of different.

A former naval officer and businessman, Strauss — a key figure in the history of nuclear weapons in the United States — served two terms on the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and was perhaps best known for having J. Robert Oppenheimer’s (who will be played by Cillian Murphy) security clearance revoked. A first look at Emily Blunt’s character, Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, was also released:

In addition to Downey Jr., Murphy, and Blunt, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer stars Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Josh Harnett, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, David Krumholtz, Alden Ehrenreich, Josh Peck, Gary Oldman, Casey Affleck, Jason Clark, David Dastmalchian, and more. Oppenheimer — Nolan’s first at Universal Pictures following his very public divorce from Warner Bros. — is currently scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on Friday, July 21, 2023.

Given its cast and potential as an Academy Awards contender, Warner Bros. is surely kicking itself for letting its relationship with Nolan — arguably one of the top 3 more important filmmakers of his generation — deteriorate to such an extent that he’s now making $100 million historical epics for a rival studio.

RELATED: The First Footage From Christopher Nolan’s Upcoming Historical Epic ‘Oppenheimer’ Has Been Unveiled