Charlize Theron is the latest A-list actor to join the ensemble of Christopher Nolan’s next movie, marking her first collaboration with the director. Deadline has confirmed the news of Theron’s casting, she joins the likes of Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong’o. Plot details on the Oscar-winning director’s new film are being kept under wraps but it is expected to start shooting early next year. Nolan’s new movie has already secured a July 17, 2026 release date.
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The Oscar-winning Theron is no stranger to blockbusters, having appeared in franchise films like Doctor Strange, Fast and Furious, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Old Guard. Despite her work in Hollywood’s biggest movies, she got her start in smaller dramas like The Cider House Rules and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Her performance in 2003’s Monster is what propelled her to stardom though after she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Recently, Theron returned to the Fast & Furious franchise in 2023’s Fast X and she recently wrapped filming on The Old Guard 2. It’s expected that she’ll appear in the next installment of Doctor Strange, having appeared as Clea in a post credit scene for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Currently she is filming Apex for Netflix alongside Taron Edgerton.
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Known for his complex storytelling and incredible visuals, Christopher Nolan’s films have become a place for the best of the best to assemble, whether they are new or established talent. The most recent Academy Awards saw Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. up for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, with each taking home their respective Oscars.
Despite attempts by Warner Bros. to sway Nolan back to the studio, the upcoming movie marks his second collaboration with Universal after they distributed Oppenheimer in 2023. The film became the third-highest grossing movie of 2023 with an explosive $976 million worldwide, trailing behind only Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Nolan has made a tradition of releasing his films in the summer, so it’s no surprise that his latest project will take the same slot in 2026. It all started when The Dark Knight grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office during the summer of 2008. Following that, in summer of 2010, Inception became the fourth highest grossing film worldwide with $839 million in the same release date slot. Afterward, The Dark Knight Rises out grossed its predecessor with another $1 billion+ gross while Dunkirk grossed $530.4 million worldwide in July 2017.
Back in October it was revealed that Nolan would be working with Matt Damon on his new film, which marks his third collaboration with the actor after 2014’s Interstellar and 2023’s Oppenheimer. Anne Hathaway will also collaborate with Nolan for a third time, having worked together on 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar. Robert Pattinson recently joined the ensemble and has teamed up with Nolan on 2020’s Tenet.