Christopher Nolan’s Next Movie Lands at Universal with Matt Damon in Talks to Star

The studio is eyeing a July 17, 2026 release date in IMAX.

Details on Christopher Nolan’s next project after the Best Picture-winning “Oppenheimer” are finally trickling out. The director is reportedly returning to Universal Pictures to make his 13th feature film, and Matt Damon is in talks to star in the project.

The studio is even already eyeing a plum summer release date: July 17, 2026, in IMAX, naturally. If that date holds, the hope is that the film will begin shooting in early 2025, according to a report in Deadline.

Universal had no comment.

Don’t hold your breath for any plot details. Any specifics are being kept under lock and key. There are rumors, via THR, that the film is a father-and-son story, whatever that entails. But Nolan is writing and directing, with he and Emma Thomas producing via their Syncopy banner.

For Damon, this is the third time he will team with the director. Most recently he starred in “Oppenheimer,” but he had a small but memorable role in Nolan’s “Interstellar” back in 2014.

Nolan himself left the door open that he was open to returning to Warner Bros. for his next feature after breaking with his longtime home on “Oppenheimer,” but Universal always appeared to be the frontrunner after taking it to box office and Oscar glory. Nolan broke with Warner Bros. after the studio made the call of releasing all of its features day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max during the pandemic. He was defiant in releasing “Tenet” in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and the film still grossed an impressive $365 million worldwide.

“Oppenheimer” wound up grossing $975.5 million worldwide, and it won seven Oscars, including for Best Actor Cillian Murphy, Best Supporting Actor Robert Downey Jr., Best Original Score, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and of course Best Picture.

Deadline first reported the news.